Iron Claws
by eenchilada98
Summary: They've met before in the past. She's a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and he's a billionaire. The last time they met up, they were perfectly happy and fully in love... until she left him. It's been two years since she last saw him. She's spent the last thirteen years running from her past, pretending it doesn't exist. But now the past comes back to bite her... maybe even literally.
1. Pilot

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own the Avengers, all of those characters and a good amount of this plot have to be acknowledged as belonging to Marvel. All I get is Andra._

* * *

_This is the first chapter of Iron Claws, my Avengers fanfic. I'm going to be posting it here so that everything fan-fiction I've written is the same through both Wattpad and FanFiction. _

_This is a finished story, so I'll be uploading all at once. It has a sequel in the works, though._

* * *

**Chapter One: Pilot**

Andra Forsythe watched the scientists below with some fascination. They all looked like little mice, scurrying around, trying to avoid the predator that was going to eat -

"Andra!" he called, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"What, Clint?" she returned, sighing.

"You can't attack them, even for play. Remember what Fury said about you getting detained?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't thinking about attacking them!" she protested.

"Yeah, you were," he corrected, and she could hear the smirk in his voice, "I'd only have to look at your tail to be able to tell."

She sighed and stood. When she came to her full height and stood before him, she was only an inch shorter than he was. Her bright green eyes met his blue ones, and a smirk crept its way onto her face.

"And have you been paying close attention to my tail?"

"I don't have to. I know you."

Andra scoffed and went to sit cross-legged on her bed. It was annoying sometimes, living up here with Clint. They didn't call him Hawkeye for nothing. That man could shoot an arrow at a gnat 300 meters away and hit it straight-on (she'd found that out from a bet that she consequently lost), and his eyes never missed anything. She couldn't keep anything from him! Still, it didn't bother her much. She didn't_ need_ to keep anything from him anyway, he already knew it all. They both knew each other like the backs of their hands and despite the certain lack of privacy, they were good friends and enjoyed each other's company. They'd known each other for years – since before she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. In fact, he was the one who'd recruited her.

The two had worked together on more missions than they could count, but she and Clint rarely got the chance to spend this much time together. It had struck everyone else in the lab as odd how well the Bird and the Cat got along – one wouldn't expect them to – but they only had to look at their relationship to realize that this was something they'd done many times before. That didn't mean they enjoyed it, though. For the two of them, it was much preferable to be fighting off bad guys during their time together, not sitting in a small room on top of a lab in which nothing happened.

Andra watched him intently for a moment as Clint fashioned more of his special arrows. He was currently working on the kind that exploded a moment after making contact, her personal favorite. They'd had lots of fun with those on missions.

A soft chuckle came from her companion, and she looked up at his face to find him looking at her. "Are you gonna say what's on your mind, or are you just gonna stare at me?"

She cracked a smile. "I'm just gonna stare at you."

"You know; you keep doing that, people are gonna get the wrong idea," he told her.

"There's no wrong idea to get. They know we're friends, what more would they think?"

He gave her a half-smile, half-smirk. "Maybe they'll think you're in love with me," he teased.

"Oh, come now," she laughed, but when his expression didn't change, she raised her eyebrows. "They don't… do they?"

"Maybe they do… and maybe they're right," he said, his half-smirk becoming a full one.

"Oh, ha, ha. You and I both know better than that. Now why don't you go back to your _precious_ arrows, I'm sure they're missing you," she returned, before laying back and looking around.

The Nest, as she, Clint, and pretty much everybody else called it, was rather bland. It had that cold steel look to it that was oh-so-common in all the S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. They'd tried to add some life to it with a little personalization, but it stayed dead-looking. Besides, on their limited, on-the-job allowances, they couldn't do much anyway. The most exciting thing there was the weapons rack that took up the entire back wall of the rectangular cutout – that was what really made it their space. It held every weapon they were allowed to take from the Armory… not to mention a few they probably weren't allowed to, but had taken anyway.

Andra was just sharpening her dagger when her ears perked up. The scientists below were rushing about and one of the computers was letting off a loud siren noise. Then the sirens of the whole building began going off, amplifying the noise to the point that she winced in pain. She and Clint shared a joint look of tired expectation as Fury's voice echoed in their com-links.

"Agents, report."

They stood from their places, replaced their weapons, and walked over to the side. Both grabbed a rope and grappled down to the floor, walking over to Director Fury.

"Agents Barton and Forsythe, I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things," he reprimanded them.

"Well, we see better from a distance," Clint defended.

"Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?" Fury continued.

"No, nothing's happened. There's been no outside contact since 1200 hours yesterday, sir," Andra mentioned.

Clint nodded. "No one's come or gone. Its oven is clean; no contacts, no IM's," he looked at it, "If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn't at this end."

"At this end?" Their superior raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open from both sides," he explained.

As if the universe wished to confirm what he was saying, the Tesseract glowed brighter and shot a beam straight at the platform behind it, opening a portal. As the three watched, the portal's energy exploded suddenly, knocking them back as it rushed to the ceiling. As Andra looked back up, she saw what was left on the platform. A man was kneeling there. He had slick, black hair and a sort of long black leather coat. When he stood, he looked to be about six feet tall. His eyes searched the room, stopping only briefly on Clint and herself. In his hand was a long spear with a curved blade that looked to be dangerous.

Fury looked up at him and shouted, "Sir, please put down the spear!"

Instead of taking Fury's advice, he raised it and shot the tables behind them, killing multiple scientists. Agents dove at him, but he proved to be far more powerful than they, and managed to take them all down. Clint stood after protecting Fury, and the man started walking towards him. He raised his gun, but his hand was grabbed by the man.

"You have heart," he stated, touching the end of his scepter to Clint's chest.

Andra watched as Clint's eyes turned black, then a light, cold, almost lifeless blue. Whatever the dude had done to him, she didn't like it. She watched Clint lower his gun and put it back in its holster. Suddenly, she fought the urge to scream at him, at ask him what the hell he was doing, but since she didn't want to end up that way herself, she bit her tongue and hoped Clint could fight whatever this was. Her eyes caught sight of Fury putting the Tesseract in a case, and she tried to stand up.

The man froze and turned around slowly. "Please don't. I still need that," he said in a low accent that sounded British.

"This doesn't have to get any messier," Fury replied as he turned around to face him.

"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose," he announced.

Selvig looked up from his place on the floor. "Loki? Brother of Thor?"

"We have no quarrel with your people," Fury told him.

The man – Loki, apparently – looked at him with a slightly amused expression. "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."

"Are you planning to step on us?"

Andra stood and walked a few steps forward. "I don't like that idea."

"I come with glad tidings," he told them, smiling, "of a world made free."

"Free from what?" Fury asked.

"Freedom."

"Freedom?" Andra repeated, not sure she'd heard him right.

He smiled at her. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart," here he turned and pointed his staff at Selvig, turning his eyes bright blue as well, and said softly, "You will know peace."

Fury crossed his arms. "Yeah, you say peace, I kinda think you mean the other thing."

"Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow," Clint interrupted, and Andra wanted to smack him, "Drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

"Like the Pharaohs of Odin," Fury confirmed.

Selvig checked on the computers. "He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself. You got maybe two minutes before this goes critical."

"Well then…" Loki trailed off, and Clint raised his arm and shot Fury in the chest, walking over to grab his case.

The three men started to leave the room. Andra looked at the situation and the look in Fury's eyes. She had to do something, _now_.

* * *

_This is only the first chapter of 24 parts, I believe? Please, please, PLEASE make sure to review on all of them. I want to know what you think of everything - despite the fact that I'm posting them practically all at once._

_- Emmy_


	2. Helicarrier

_I'm not going to bother with a disclaimer. It's up here, you know it doesn't really belong to me._

* * *

**Chapter Two: Helicarrier**

_~Still in the S.H.I.E.L.D. base with the Tesseract~_

Andra took a stance and stood as tall as she could, hoping to look intimidating.

"OY!" she yelled, and Loki turned to face her, "Yeah, you with the funky staff thing that took over my friend! Just where do you think you're going?"

"What did you call me?" he snarled.

"You with the funky staff thing that took over my friend. Which, by the way, makes me _very_ unhappy," she hissed, leveling a glare at him.

His face contorted into a smirk of sorts, and he started walking towards her. "It amuses me, mortal, how you think you can intimidate me. Perhaps you could -"

"Whoa there, cowboy," she interrupted, and he gave her a perplexed look, "Whoever said I was mortal?"

He paused. "Forgive me if you are not, but you are mortal, yes?" he asked, his voice considerably less harsh.

She thought for a moment. If she told him she was immortal, he might try to test that, and then she'd be screwed. Or, more likely, dead. If she said she was mortal, he'd probably shoot her to get her out of the way or take her over like he had Clint and Selvig… which definitely wasn't a good option. _Let's take the middle road_.

"I'm a cat. We've got nine lives," she responded.

"Really?" Loki asked, smirking again. "And what, pray tell, is your name, _kitten_?"

"Depends on if you'll tell me why you're here."

"Your deal seems fair enough. I am on this world to conquer it, to free it from that foolish lie that is freedom. In the end, I mean to make this world a better place. And now for your end of the bargain."

"I'm Andra," she replied simply, before throwing one of her flash grenades from her belt at him.

Andra squinted in the light, running to Fury. He was trying to pull the bullet from his vest. She was glad it was only the armored vest that had a hole in it, and not the Director himself.

"Hill, do you copy? Barton is…" he trailed off, breathing heavily from pain as he finally pulled out the bullet.

She helped him off the ground and they ran through the facility, trying to get top-side before things got any worse. In the back of her mind, she registered Fury barking orders over the com-links, but she wasn't thinking much about that. Her mind was occupied by a certain Asgardian.

While she and Loki had been talking, she had noticed the giant, unstoppable black hole in the ceiling getting quite large and come to the conclusion that they needed to get out of there fast before that thing reached full size. Hence, she had left the God standing there with the conversation unfinished. Granted, it was getting to be a dangerous one anyway. There was something about it that haunted her. _Why_ had she told him her real name? Why hadn't she used an alias? God knows she had plenty to choose from. But instead of doing the smart thing and lying to him, she chose to tell him the truth. And she had a feeling that would come back to bite her.

Fury and she exited the building and got on the just-landing helicopter. As they flew out, they spotted Loki riding in the back of a Jeep not too far away. They both instantly started shooting at the car, but nothing seemed to stop it. Instead, they caught Loki's attention and he began firing blue energy bolts at them. He hit one of the rotors and the chopper began to fall.

Andra jumped from the side and landed with a somersault on the ground. As she stood up, she saw Fury on the ground like she had been and the helicopter crashing behind them. She didn't even have to go check the pilot; he was dead, no questions asked. No human could survive a crash like that. Phil's voice came over the com-links.

"Director? Director Fury, do you copy?" he asked, sounding worried.

Fury got up off the ground and responded, "The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?"

"A lot of men still under. Don't know how many survivors," she reported, sounding out of breath and like she'd just barely survived herself.

"Sound the general call," Fury commanded, "I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase."

"Roger that," Agent Hill replied.

"Coulson, get back to base. This is a Level Seven. As of right now, we are at war."

* * *

_~ 17 hours later, at a port off of the East Coast ~_

Andra walked onto the board walk with her hands on her hips and stopped beside her superior.

"So you're telling me we're going to be travelling around in a giant aircraft carrier? With the _Hulk_? That's not smart, sir."

"When I gave you permission to speak freely, it was not so you could criticize, Agent Forsythe. Trust me, this isn't my idea of the best or safest situation either, but it's the only base we assume could be out of Loki's reach," Fury explained.

"Pardon me, but I don't see how the sea can hide us from a _god_," she mentioned.

"We're not going to be on the sea."

"What do you mean? It's a _ship_, sir. It's not like it can fly."

Fury chuckled as they boarded. "Don't be so sure, Agent."

The two walked across the deck and into the main bridge. She walked around and looked at what equipment they had. The computers were of blatantly better quality, that was for sure. Everything was different than most S.H.I.E.L.D. bases, except the color scheme. Cold, steel gray. Typical. She sat down at one of the computers for a moment.

"Don't get too comfortable. You won't be sitting there, we're going to need you elsewhere," Fury said.

"Do I _ever _sit at a computer, sir?" she joked.

"No, you're an official field agent with a side job in assassination," someone called.

She turned from her seat to see Phil Coulson walking up to her. A smile crept its way onto her face. Phil and she had known each other since she started with S.H.I.E.L.D. all those years ago. He was like a best friend to her, hell, he was a best friend to everybody. Even Fury was almost friendly with him.

"Hey, Phil, long time, no see. How's that girl of yours? Still playing cello in that orchestra?"

"Yep, she is. And how's that boyfriend?"

She laughed a short laugh. "_What_ boyfriend?"

Fury cleared his throat and stared at them, effectively killing the conversation where it stood. He walked to his podium and touched a picture. From her angle, she couldn't see it.

"I want you both to go collect someone. I already have agents locating Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner, and I'm sending you two after _him_."

"Uh... who are we going after, sir?" she asked.

"Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man," he replied.

"Right," Andra murmured under her breath.

She and Stark had known each other for a while - and by known, it was meant that they slept together numerous times and she lived with him for a few months. That was probably Tony's record for sleeping with the same woman, and it was also probably the first time _the girl _had left _him._ This was going to be... _awkward._

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_Please, review on this chapter! Tell me what you think!_

_- Emmy_


	3. Stark Tower

**Chapter Three: Stark Tower**

_~ about an hour later, in New York City ~_

Phil and she walked into the front room of Stark Tower. Andra looked around. Everything around her was clean and professional, with no difference between one side of the room and the other. She chuckled to herself; it was so unlike Tony to be professional... or totally clean, for that matter. There was always something dirty about that man.

The two agents boarded the elevator and Phil pressed the button for the top floor. As the realization that she was going to see the man she had randomly left with no explanation set in, she became slightly nervous. Seeing her discomfort, Phil placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She sent him a small smile and he took out his phone. When he put it up to his ear, she saw the caller I.D., and caught that he was calling Tony. Quickly looking down, she couldn't help but overhear what happened over the phone.

"Hello, you have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark -"

"Hey, Stark," Phil said, "We're here on_ urgent_ business."

She winced when he said "we're," as she was sure that Tony wouldn't let that slip.

"Then leave it urgent," he replied. "Wait, we?"

Phil looked at her. "Never mind that. Coming up."

As he hung up the phone, she sighed, "Did you really _have_ to say 'we?'"

He gave her a smile, "It's better than lying to him and having you be a surprise."

Andra crossed her arms, "We're spies, Phil. It's _our job_ to lie."

* * *

The elevator dinged, and Phil walked out of the open door. She stayed behind, hiding from the open view to the flat. It was _so_ tempting to just turn tail and run. Her bravery ran out when it came to Tony, he was one of the few men who could make her nervous. Due to her past with him - which included actually falling for him in an almost whirlwind romance - she was anxious to see him again. She remembered watching an interview featuring Tony where they asked about her. He said that he had no idea where she was and that he figured she'd either left or been kidnapped. Apparently, he had filed a missing persons on her, but they'd never found any evidence she was ever there. That was the thing about S.H.I.E.L.D.; if you didn't want to be found, you could totally disappear.

She shook the past from her mind and focused on where she was. In the background, she could hear Phil explaining to Tony why they were at his apartment. After a second of gathering herself, she walked out of the elevator. Tony was standing with his back to her across the room. He looked to be uploading something into JARVIS's mainframe, probably the files on the Avengers Initiative. Surprisingly, the room was devoid of other females. She had almost expected for there to be another woman there that Tony was sleeping with, at least for the night, but he was alone.

Seeing him standing there alone definitely made her courage soar. Andra walked past Phil.

She tapped Tony on the shoulder and purred, "Hello, Anthony."

He spun around and froze when he saw her.

"Andra?" he asked, stunned. He looked her up and down, in an almost flirtatious way. "Where have you been? You just randomly disappeared, with no explanation for -" he spied the large S.H.I.E.L.D. symbol on her tank top, "Oh. So _that's_ where you went."

"Sorry, Tony. I wanted to tell you, really, but, ya know, Fury woulda killed me," she explained.

"Yeah, I figured. Next time, babe, don't make me come after you."

"You came after me?"

"I didn't _then_, but I will next time," he said nonchalantly, turning back to the computer.

She smirked and wrapped her arms around his neck, saying in his ear, "You implying that you _want_ a next time, Mister Stark?"

He turned around, putting his hands on her waist and giving her an identical expression to her own. "What if I did? After all, you're _way _hotter than you were before, Kitty Cat," he teased, looking her over again.

She pulled herself from his arms and walked across the room, leaning on the back of one of the couches. "And what makes you think that I wanna come back?"

"You're here, aren't you?"

Tony started walking towards her intently, stopping at the couch with his hands on either side of her and his face close to hers. At that moment, Phil cleared his throat loudly, and the two got the point, Tony stepping away from her.

"We should probably head back and leave Mr. Stark to look over the files," he suggested.

Andra nodded and stood up straight to follow him, but Tony grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Nope, not her. Kitty Cat's staying here," he stated.

"I don't think Fury'll allow her to stay here," Phil warned.

"Aw, come on. He can let go of her for one night."

"Tony, I'm not sure -" she started.

"Okay. Fine. Your loss. Go ahead and walk out again," he turned back to his computer.

"Tony! I'd stay, but Fury's pretty strict, and besides," she added, looking at the large amount of documents on the display screen, "You have a lot of homework."

"I suppose. There's not _that _many files, but if you think so. Though... I could make it worth your while," he tempted her, looking into her eyes.

The room had suddenly became _very_ warm, or was it just her?

"Well... when you put it _that way_..." She placed her hand up to the com-link on her ear and pressed the connection button, saying, "So, _Dad,_ can I spend the night?"

He sighed. "Will it help your assignment?"

After stealing a glance at Tony, she replied, "Yeah, probably."

"Then I want you to stay with Mr. Stark until he agrees to come in. Send Agent Coulson back, though. I have a feeling he won't want to be there anyway."

Andra chuckled. "I agree, will do. Thank you, sir."

She disconnected and walked up to Tony, who had turned back to his computer, and whispered in his ear, "Guess who's spending the night."

* * *

_Please please please take the time to review this. It would mean a lot to me._

_- Emmy_


	4. With Tony Again

**Chapter Four: With Tony Again**

~_ now, in the top floor of Stark Tower _~

Tony turned around and grinned at her, "We're getting rid of Coulson first, right?"

"Yes'm," she nodded, and turned to the agent. "Say, Phil?"

"I know, Fury wants me to head back. I'll see you... later, Andra. Have fun! Well, not too much, but some. Well... oh, never mind," he muttered, and waved as he walked back into the elevator and went back to the lobby.

"So..." Tony smirked, putting his hands on her waist and pulling her closer.

She smiled in a mock-sweet way and put a hand on his chest, spurning his advance. "You still have homework to do," she reminded him.

"That can wait, this is now," he said in a wanton tone, removing her hand and leaning in.

She quickly replaced it. "Work now, play later."

A smirk graced his features. "Is that a promise?"

"It'll be a void promise if you don't get to work," she warned.

He let her go, if somewhat reluctantly, and turned back to the computer. Andra walked around for a moment, examining her surroundings, before plopping down on one of the couches. There was a large flat-screen T.V. in one of the walls, and before it was a couple of gently curved couches with an oblong coffee table in between them. The wall her couch was facing was completely made of glass, overlooking the whole of Manhattan. Behind her was the wall with the elevator in it, and to the right there was a small hallway she assumed led to Tony's bedroom. On the other side of the room, there was... she realized he was sitting not at a desk, but at a bar with several stools and a computerized counter-top. _Cool, _she thought, as she laid down.

Suddenly, he sighed and stood up, walking behind the bar to get a drink.

"Hey, Kitty Cat, you want anything?" he called.

"No thanks, Tony. You know I'm not into alcohol," she replied, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Oh, right. The whole, 'I can't drink alcohol because it's like poison for cats' bit," he sighed.

"Glad to see you remember it fondly," she teased.

"I can't get you drunk. Makes getting you into my bed a _lot_ harder."

She laughed and looked at him, really_ looked_ at him. Tony was leaning against the bar, with a tablet in one of his hands, reading one of the files. In the other, he held what looked like a straight scotch. He was wearing his signature AC/DC t-shirt and a pair of slightly faded, dark blue jeans. His hair was the same messy, dark brown, almost black haircut, and he had the same goatee that she remembered. She looked at his eyes and found herself staring into their dark brown orbs. There was a smirk on his lips.

"You're checking me out," he stated.

"Maybe."

"Do you want to just head back to the bedroom now? Because I would have _no _problem with that."

A giggle escaped her. "Same old Tony, always wanting to get to the good stuff. You always were impatient when it came to sleeping together."

"Can you blame me? I mean, I am _me_, after all. The world's most attractive playboy."

"Right, I forgot the whole 'attractive' part," she said, mocking him openly.

He gained a seductive expression. "I think I need to remind you, then."

"No, I'm okay," she said, and his shoulders fell. "You can remind me later."

His smile returned and he winked at her before going back to his reading. A few minutes later, he looked up and frowned at her slightly with one eyebrow raised, an expression that usually meant the great Tony Stark was confused.

"Andra, why aren't you in here? You are part of this, I assume."

"Yeah, I am part of the planned Avengers Initiative. I should be in there, are you sure?" she asked, getting up and walking towards him.

He showed her the tablet. "It starts with Asgard, shouldn't it start with Andra? They've got everyone else by first name."

She took the tablet from him and looked closely. "Oh, I get it. They have every person that's involved in the initiative itself filed by their code name. Check down in the T's, you should see a 'Tigress' in there," she explained, handing the tablet back to him. "Is there something that the All-Knowing One didn't see?"

"I'm distracted," Tony winked, and then gave her a skeptical look. "_That's_ your code name? 'Tigress'?"

"Hey," she raised her hands to shoulder height as she backed slowly towards the couch again, "I didn't get to choose my nickname, and you didn't choose yours either."

"Good point," he admitted, "but at least mine sounds cool. What the heck is this?"

She stopped and walked closer to him, trying to get a look at the screen, but he pushed her away and she turned around with a 'hmph!'

He sighed and said, "They have your colorations all wrong. This says your tail and ears are dark orange with black stripes and black tips. They are clearly light brown with dark brown stripes and a dark brown tip on your tail only."

"Nice to know you've been paying -" she shivered as he ran a hand down her tail. "Tony, don't do that."

She turned to see a mischievous smirk on his face. He did it again, more softly and slowly this time.

"Anthony..." she had meant to sound menacing, but it came out more like a moan.

"I was right, then. That does turn you on," he murmured, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around her, leaning down just slightly to kiss her.

* * *

_Yes, these first few are sinfully short. I apologize for that. Please review anyway!_

_- Emmy_


	5. Explanations

**Chapter Five: Explanations**

~ _approximately an hour later, on the top floor of Stark Tower _~

The two readjusted themselves from their momentary lapse in focus and Tony answered the phone. Andra knew that he was talking to someone irritating just from the sound of his voice. The fact that she had forced him to answer his phone proved to both of them how tentative this getting-back-together subject was. As she crossed her legs Indian style and turned herself sideways to face him, she heard him sigh and say something about a meeting tomorrow that he was, incidentally, refusing to go to. Apparently, it was a meeting with the National Security Board, and he said he had already sent all the members a copy of his plans for the future. It piqued her interest, simply because she knew Tony made weapons for a living, and to hear that he was sending them plans for the_ future_, not for a new weapon of mass destruction, slightly confused her.

He hung up the phone and leaned back on the couch, sighing.

"Is there something wrong, Tony?" she asked.

"The National Security Board isn't happy with me for deciding not to make weapons anymore," he responded.

"I can imagine so. You are their main source of dangerous stuff to threaten our enemies with."

"I _was_," he corrected. "But after seeing my weapons used by terrorists to kill innocent people, I couldn't bring myself to make anything that could hurt others anymore."

She was silent for a moment, and then she hugged him. "I'm so proud of you."

"You? Proud of me? Oh, I've _gotta_ hear this," he teased.

"I'm not kidding!" she said, smacking his arm. "I'm proud of you. You spent your whole life making weapons, it was everything you devoted your life to, but when you saw their secret purposes, you didn't bow to the pressure to make them for the military because you didn't think it was right. That's a very noble thing of you, Tony."

"Glad to hear at least _someone _approves of my decision."

"I'm sure I'm not the only one. There's gotta be a hippie somewhere that loves you for this," she joked, and he chuckled.

"Not sure if I should be flattered or freaked out."

"Flattered, definitely," she decided.

He turned to her. "So, Kitty Cat, you wanna tell me what comes with those ears of yours?"

"Uh... a tail?"

Tony facepalmed. "Not what I meant. What special abilities come with being feline?"

"Oh! Well... are you _sure_ you want to know? Some of them are pretty scary, and I wouldn't want to scare you off," she warned.

"Darlin', I'm Iron Man. You scare me as much as a kitten."

"Hey! I'm frightening!"

"No, not really."

Andra crossed her arms and pouted. "You're no fun."

He smirked. "I'm _very_ fun, and you know it," he winked.

"You know what? I'm going to tell you just how many ways I could _brutally murder_ you, Mister Stark, just to wipe that self-satisfied smirk off your face," she threatened.

"Oh, I'd _love _to hear that," he sarcastically replied. "Go on, please. I'm _very _interested."

"Or maybe, I could simply give you a demonstration?" she purred, extending the claws in her right hand and flexing it, trying to frighten him slightly.

"Okay... don't know how you managed to hide _that _from me, but I never noticed you had claws before," he said, taking her left hand gingerly, and he had a sharp intake of breath. "You don't have _fingernails_."

"Nope. I can't, or I wouldn't be able to have retractable claws. Besides, it's not like they're necessary, anyway," she said, shrugging off the disturbed tone he used.

"Any other interesting side effects of felinity?"

"Well, I always land on my feet, and it doesn't hurt to fall from tall heights. I can fall straight down from a three story building and it doesn't hurt. At all. Above that, though, it's painful and I risk breaking something," she started. "My ears let me hear things others can't, like the footsteps of a person up to like, fifty yards away when they're barefoot_ and_ on carpet. That's what _I_ have, but due to S.H.I.E.L.D., I'm good with weapons, too. Preferably sharp ones, though. Guns are too loud for my ears, so even though I carry one - stupid regulations stuff - I don't ever use it. I'm pretty good with a bow, though, thanks to Clint."

"Clint? Who's that? Should I be worried?" he asked, smirking.

"What? No! We're not like that! He's a friend, that's all!" she exclaimed, eyes wide. Though the idea of being with Clint like that _had _crossed her mind before, it just didn't sound right, so she had dismissed it then and hadn't thought about it since.

"Good."

Andra paused and looked at him quizzically. "Wait a minute... did you just ask if you should be _worried_?"

"No."

"You _did_, didn't you? You're claiming me as your own, aren't you, Anthony? Only two hours together and you're already getting defensive," she purred, crawling closer to him.

"Not defensive, just... selfish," he contradicted.

"Uh huh. _Right_," she commented as she sat back and crossed her right leg over her left.

"You know you love me," he said, and it sparked a thought in her mind. Andra remembered sitting with him, like this, back when they were together, and responding to that statement with a "Yes, yes I do," and a kiss.

She hadn't remembered being in love with him. All she remembered was that they were together for at least two months, if not more. And that was just the time she'd been living with him. They had dated for... another month, maybe, while she'd been living in her Malibu flat. When she thought back, it was because she'd been ordered to locate the representative of a major terrorist organization that was going to be talking to a contact for weapons distribution at a charity ball that she even met Tony in the first place. They'd danced almost all night, but she had refused to let him take her home or buy her a drink. And then, after she'd finished that mission, she'd taken her leave and gone to stay in the city for a while, where she had _literally_ run into the billionaire on the beach. He'd taken her out for a date to a simple fast food joint, and then taken her back to his - she guessed it was a mansion, for the night. That had been the start of a very interesting relationship that included him being attacked by Obadiah Stane, but that's a story she would rather not remember. After all that, and her admitting - she remembered this now - that she loved him, she had been called away and left him without saying goodbye. It had been two years since then, and no contact had passed between them. No wonder he was upset with her.

"You okay, Kitty Cat?" his voice dragged her out of her reverie.

She shook the past from her mind, yet again. "Yeah, I'm fine."

One of his eyebrows raised. "Are you sure? You looked pretty out there for a sec."

"Just thinking." At least she wasn't lying.

"About?"

She didn't answer right away. _Do I tell him, do I not tell him?_

A little voice spoke up in her head, but it wasn't so little. _'Tell him what?'_

_Wait a minute... what the hell?_

* * *

_Somebody's got a brain visitor... Review please?_

_- Emmy_


	6. The God of Mischief

**Chapter Six: The God of Mischief**

~ _on the top floor of Stark Tower, approximately 7 o'clock in the evening _~

Andra looked at Tony, her eyes wide and her mouth open.

"Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely worried. She never acted like this, and she can't be crazy...

She shot up like a rocket and ran out to the balcony before jumping onto the roof. She sat down on the gravel and crossed her legs Indian style.

_Okay... so, you're not me, and you're in my head, so who are you?_

_"I am tempted to tell you that I am your conscience, it would be amusing."_

_Higher language, European accent, a sense of humor that's at other's expense, and the ability to talk in people's heads... that fits no one I know... so who ARE you?_

_"Oh, but you DO know me."_

_I do? News to me._

_"We have met on only one occasion, and you left our conversation unfinished."_

_Met you once, never finished... NO. You can't be..._

_"Oh, but I am."_

_That's not possible!_

_"It is very possible. Let me show you..."_

Suddenly, she was sucked into a world of stars and asteroids, as if she was dreaming. Before her stood the God of Mischief and Lies himself, in his green and gold armor with his staff, but atop his head was a helmet with huge horns. She thought that he looked like a ram of some kind, and it made her giggle slightly.

He raised an eyebrow and snarled, "You find me amusing?"

"Your helmet is so... funny looking," she said, restraining her laughter.

"If I could hurt you without destroying your mind in the process, I would not hesitate," he threatened, and she merely chuckled. "STOP LAUGHING AT ME!"

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to take you seriously when you look like an earwig," she muttered the last part as she tried not to laugh.

"An earwig? Explain what this is," he demanded, the confusion on his face adorable.

Wait a minute there... _adorable_? No, no, no, no, no, backtrack... uh... evident. There we go.

"It's a bug. It's got a long body and really long pincers. It looks exactly like your helmet," she explained.

"I resemble... _an insect_?" He was mortified.

She nodded. The look on his face was hilarious as he removed his helmet from his head and it disappeared. His scepter, in turn, shrank from a giant staff to a small one. The God walked closer to her and stopped right in front of her.

"Are you now intimidated by my presence?" he asked.

Andra looked at him and didn't see anything scary about him. In fact, if it weren't for the underlying fact that he had taken her friend and the Tesseract, she would have found him quite attractive. But that was beside the point.

She shook her head, "Nope. I don't think you're scary at all."

His features pulled into a grimace, "And I suppose there is nothing more I may do to convince you that I am not here for purposes kind?"

"Oh, I already knew _that_. After all, you kinda stole the most dangerous thing on the planet, and somebody who's kind wouldn't do that," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your reasoning is sound," he mentioned, nodding slightly.

"Of course it is. My reasoning is always sound."

Loki smirked and sat down on a large throne that randomly appeared, and then gestured for her to sit. When she turned to look at what she was supposed to sit in, she saw a large chair that looked extremely comfortable. Andra plopped down in it and made herself comfy.

"So, monsieur, why are you in my head?" she asked; it had been bugging her for a while.

He shrugged. "I had finished my counsel and I wished to verify my thoughts that you had given me your true name."

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"I already have."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He smirked again. "My entry into your mind is done by a spell. Spells like this can only be done if one has the true name of the intended. I tried summoning you, but I could not perform that spell. Perhaps it is because Andra is not your true name, but a name you answer to and most of your acquaintances know."

"And do you expect me to tell you my real name?"

"It would be useful. However, if you refuse, I could simply enter the mind of Barton and retrieve it. Granted, that kind of treatment could destroy his mind," he drawled, playing with his scepter as if he was bored.

A small pause ensued.

She took a slow breath and said in a low tone, "You wouldn't."

Without looking at her, he replied, "You underestimate me."

"You need Clint too much. He's too valuable to risk losing him," she stated.

At that, he looked up, his smirk falling, and their eyes met. His eyes were a beautiful emerald green that she had never seen in another being before. Hers were green, yes, but around her pupils was a ring of gold that changed the color to more of the color of leaves in the spring.

"Are you willing to take that chance, my dear?" he asked.

She couldn't answer. Was she willing to risk the mind of her friend, one of the most intelligent and talented agents S.H.I.E.L.D. had? Was she willing to risk his life to save her own? Then she remembered what he had said once while teaching her to shoot a bow. "Sometimes you'll want to eyeball it and just take a chance. Maybe you'll hit it and maybe you won't. And sometimes not hitting your target means the death of an innocent person. Do you really want that?" She made a decision.

"Fine. I'll tell you my name," she sighed.

The smirk replaced itself on his face. "Intelligent choice."

"My full first name is Andraste. Use it well."

"I can assure you, I will," the God said as he stood and walked up to her. She stood to face him. "And I can assure you I will be visiting you often, my dear. For now, return to your body. I do believe you have been absent for long enough."

As he touched her left temple, she fell from the other world and back into her own body, which was laying on the roof of Stark Tower. As she sat up, she found the back of her head hurt immensely. It was most likely because as she exited her body to talk to Loki, it had fallen backwards quickly and didn't have the ability to cushion itself. Now the back of her head was sore and so was her back. Fortunately, the gravel hadn't cut her or anything, so there were no physical repercussions of her meeting.

Suddenly, there was a pain in her left wrist. She looked down at it and saw writing appearing on her arm like a tattoo. It read, "_A Name Is A Powerful Thing_" in fancy cursive writing. She figured it was Loki's way of reminding her physically that he now had some level of control over her.

* * *

Andra stood up and walked back inside, sitting on the couch beside Tony, who was having another scotch.

"Hey," he said, "What happened back there?"

"Nothing," she lied.

"No, something happened, because you never act like that."

"Just... about what happened last time we were together..." she lied again.

Her left hand reached up to mess with her ear. She looked at Tony and saw his eyes on her forearm. Before she could hide it, he reached out and grabbed it, reading Loki's message.

"When did this happen? You didn't have that when you were in here earlier," he stated.

"No, I've had it for a while. I got it about a year ago." More lies.

"But it wasn't there earlier. I would've noticed it, Kitty Cat."

"You must not have been paying close enough attention, then. It's been here all day, and all of every day since I got it. Tattoos don't just randomly appear and disappear, Tony."

He looked her in the eyes and said, in a measured and flat voice, "Why don't you stop lying to me and tell me where this came from?"

* * *

_Oh no... Andra's in trouble now... _

_Review please! _

_- Emmy_


	7. Lies

**Chapter Seven: Lies**

~_ on the top floor of Stark Tower_ ~

"Tony, if I told you, you'd never believe me anyway. There's no point," she tried to convince him.

"There's a point, you just can't see it. And fine, if you aren't going to tell me, I'll just wait until you tell someone that actually would believe you," he said in a low-tone, and she caught the irritation.

"Are you really getting mad about this?"

"What, you expect me to be happy?"

Andra heaved a heavy sigh. "No, but I'd like it if you'd stop getting irritated."

"And how do you suppose I do that?" he almost snapped at her.

Her ears flattened back and she gave him a look of annoyance. "First of all, drop the snippy attitude. It's getting on my nerves. And just forget this whole tattoo thing ever happened. I'll explain it later. And Tony... can we just leave the past behind us? You asked me to stay, but you won't get over me leaving you."

"Oh, I'm already over it."

"No, you obviously aren't, or you wouldn't be bringing it up."

"You're the one who brought it up."

"You've been bringing it up since I got here. You mentioned it first."

"Whatever you wanna believe, Kitty Cat."

She let out a pent-up breath and it hissed between her teeth. Her green eyes bored into his as she glared at him, her pupils mere slits in the middle.

"Can you please stop acting like a hormone-crazed, teenage girl?"

"I am not acting like a teenage girl."

Her head lolled back and she drug a hand through her hair. "Okay, forget I said that. Can we both just get over this and move on? I don't want to spend the whole night arguing with you."

Tony nodded mutely as he got up and poured himself another scotch. He stood behind the counter and sipped it quietly before looking her in the eyes.

"So, Andra, what would you like to do?"

"I honestly don't know. What about you?"

"I have one idea..."

Her hand moved to her knee and she raised her head to stare fully into his eyes, which now held a glimmer of mischief. That could only mean one thing. She couldn't stop her mouth from stretching into a smile as she thought about what he was implying.

"You sure about that, Mr. Stark? Don't you remember how dangerous I am?"

"Oh, I remember," he mentioned, and took another sip of his drink. "Can't say I'm not looking forward to it."

"Really?" Her smile became a smirk.

"Really," he returned, their eyes locking again.

She got up and stood there before him, tail swishing back and forth. "I'm waiting."

"Follow me," he commanded, and the two entered the elevator, his arm resting at her waist. "JARVIS, if anyone asks for me or Andra, tell them we're... busy."

"Busy doing what, sir?" JARVIS's metallic voice asked.

"Anything. You're the super-computer, come up with something."

She chuckled. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Forsythe?"

"Tell them we're out somewhere drinking. That should buy us some time, at least," she rationalized.

"Very well, Miss Forsythe. I shall tell anyone who asks for either one of you that you both are out drinking."

"Thanks."

Tony gave her a look that she didn't catch.

"What?" she asked, turning her head to him.

"You're very good at lying, you know that?"

"Well, it's kinda my job..."

"Right. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents lie about everything, don't they?" his voice didn't sound approving.

"Telling the truth can get us killed and the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D. exposed. We can't risk the nation's most powerful secrets getting into the wrong hands," she explained.

He nodded and she could tell he still didn't like the fact that she lied for a living. It meant she could lie to him at any moment - hell, she already had. He'd caught one of the lies, but not the others, thank God. Besides, it wasn't important that he knew everything. She'd be explaining it all to Fury later anyway, and hopefully he'd be there when it happened.

The elevator came to a stop and they walked out into his mechanics shop and garage. Tony knew for a fact she loved it down here because every time they were here together, they did something amazing. And not sexually, but intellectually. The two, if working together, could make the most advanced inventions in the world, and it fascinated her. The gleam in her eyes when she created something or had an epiphany was the best thing he'd ever seen. When she got an idea, oh... stand back, 'cause that girl was gonna be on a roll, and her tail would not stay still. Not only that, but she loved his music, which was just another bonus. He could play it as loud as he wanted and she'd just be telling him to turn it up. Tony released her waist and caught the sparkle in her eye as she looked at the blueprints on the screen in front of her.

As she flipped through the plans, one in particular caught her eye. It was the plans for an Iron Man suit that was the size of a briefcase and there were two mentioned bracelets. She looked over the plans and then turned to its mastermind.

"Okay, explain the expandable suit to me." She slipped herself to where she was sitting on the worktable across from his.

Without turning around, he said, "Well, let's say I were to fall out of the Tower. With the Mark V, it deploys itself and flies after me. A sensor on it checks for the two bracelets and instantly decides how to attach to me. Then basically I get the Suit on in midair. Cool, no?"

"I have to say so. Not that the invention of the Iron Man suit itself wasn't cool enough, here you go improving it. You just cannot get enough, can you, Tony?"

"Of you? Never," he quipped, sending her a wink, then turning back to the worktable.

"Ha ha, very funny. Now that we know you're dying to get in my pants -"

"I though we already had that established," he interrupted.

"Well, you've reminded us," she teased.

"Would you like another reminder?"

Tony got up and walked over to her, positioning himself between her legs and putting one hand on either side of her. Her hands rested on his shoulders gently, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer by the waist. Both leaned in and their lips met. Andra had a wave of energy as she remembered how good it felt to kiss this man. The kiss was passionate, sensual and desirous, neither one wanting the other to pull away for fear the moment would be ruined. She wrapped her legs around his torso and he grabbed her off the table, carrying her to the elevator and placing her against the wall.

Her whole body felt overjoyed to be back with him and she never wanted it to end. As they reached the top floor, he hoisted her up again and carried her into his bedroom. They laid on the bed and he positioned himself on top of her. This was going to be a long night.

"Sir, there's a call for you from S.H.I.E.L.D.," JARVIS's cold voice mentioned.

Tony broke the kiss and quickly said, "Tell them I'm busy, and JARVIS?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Go on mute till morning."

* * *

_Welp... that happened._

_Review, please! _

_- Emmy_


	8. Found Him

**Chapter Eight: Found Him**

~ _the next morning, at around 7 am, in Tony's bedroom, on the top floor of Stark Tower _~

Andra woke up and stretched. She felt a presence beside her and turned to see Tony laying there with his hands under his head, staring at the ceiling. A smile crept onto her face as she rolled over and her arm slinked across his chest, pulling them closer together. His right arm positioned itself around her.

She hummed pleasantly as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Good morning, Tony."

He placed a small kiss on the top of her head and held her ear between his lips in a fake bite. A sigh brushed over her ears and she gave a shuttering breath. The ear was released and she smiled.

"Good morning, Kitty Cat," he muttered sleepily.

Her head lifted and she looked him in the eyes before kissing him on the corner of the mouth. He didn't respond.

"Babe, you okay?" she asked, genuinely worried.

A sigh answered her. "What is this?"

"What in the world do you mean?"

"I mean, are you here to stay, or is this a one-night thing?"

She laid her head on his shoulder again and snuggled close to him. "Well, that depends."

"On?"

"I know you're gonna hate to hear this, but S.H.I.E.L.D. is gonna want me home today."

He whined, "Why?"

"Because there's a mad man on the loose and I'm one of the ones recruited to stop him," she explained as if speaking to a child.

"Well -"

"Miss Forsythe, there's a call in for you from S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Coulson, and he said it's urgent. Shall I put it through to the bedroom phone?" JARVIS asked suddenly.

She looked at Tony who was frowning. After giving him a quick kiss, she picked up the phone and spoke as she gathered the pieces of her uniform and put them back on.

"Hey, Phil, what's up?"

"We need you and Stark to get to Stuttgart, Germany ASAP. We've got a location on Loki."

Her eyes widened and she put her hand over the receiver as she told Tony to get up and get some clothes on, NOW.

"We'll be right there. Can you send me a jet?"

"Travelling by Iron Man not your cup of tea?" Phil asked, and she could hear his smile.

"Nope, not really," she chuckled, sneaking a look at Tony before she left the room.

She walked into the main room and found her weapons laying on the coffee table, and she proceeded to put them on.

"So, anything else I should know before I check in for duty?"

"Well, both Banner and Rodgers came in this morning. It was cool, I got to talk to Captain America. Though, I probably could've handled myself better, I was a little awkward," Phil sheepishly muttered.

"Oh, Phil, I'm sure you did fine. It was probably just the excitement of meeting your idol. It happens to the best of us," she consoled him.

"Anyway, have you gotten Tony on board yet?"

"Well... no, but I'm going to talk to him about it in a minute. What's the ETA on that jet?"

"It's about to get to you, five minutes more."

"Okay, thanks," she said, and Tony walked out of his bedroom fully dressed. "Phil, I'm gonna have to let you go. Talk to you in a bit."

"Okay, have fun. Bye," her friend said, and both hung up the phone.

Tony walked up to her and she sighed.

"So, what do you think about becoming a part of the Avengers Initiative?" she asked.

"I've already told them no, isn't that good enough?" he replied, sauntering to get another scotch, which she took away from him.

"You've had enough to drink lately, and this is a decision you need to make _sober. _Now, Tony, please. Think about it. Isn't this what Iron Man _does_? Doesn't he save the world from its foes?"

"No, he keeps my name clean and stops the people who want to kill me. Anyone else being saved is just collateral benefits."

Her hands rested on her hips. "Do you really believe that? There are other people who need you, Tony, whether you like it or not."

"Well, I don't like it, and I'm not gonna do it."

"Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you can just brush it off. We all have to do something we don't like sooner or later."

"Yeah, well, I'm choosing later."

"Babe, despite your own ideas, the world thinks you're a hero. Heroes don't back out from a fight that helps everyone."

"This one does."

"Miss Forsythe, there's a jet waiting for you. The pilot has a message for you. Shall I play it?" JARVIS asked suddenly.

"Sure," she replied irritably.

"Hey, Koshka, I'm out here waiting for you. Why don't you stop making out with Stark and jump out the window real quick, and stop keeping the Captain and I waiting?" Natasha's voice rang out clear.

"Nat's here?" Andra asked herself quietly, before turning to Tony and saying, "You think about what I've said."

She then turned and ran up the stairs and out to the long platform, which she jumped off of. Her feet touched the metal of the loading hatch and she rolled to a standing position as the bay doors closed. Before her stood Captain America himself, in the flesh. She extended her hand and walked forward.

"Hey there, Captain. Nice to finally meet you. My name's Tigress, but call me Andra."

He shook her hand. "Steve. You're the cat, right?" he turned slightly pink, "I'm sorry, that was rude of me -"

"No, it's fine. Yes, I'm the cat. And you're the super soldier," she said, smiling.

"That's me. Do you anything about who we're fighting?"

"Yeah, actually. His name's Loki, God of Mischief. He claims to be from Asgard, wherever that is. From what little I know of him, he seems pretty arrogant. Besides, it's hard to be humble and claim to be "burdened with glorious purpose" at the same time," she joked, and he chuckled.

"Any idea what he wants?"

"Nope. Haven't really had time to ask, either. If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Nat," she mentioned, and started moving towards the cockpit.

"Nat?" he asked, a look of confusion on his face.

"Uh..." she tried to remember Natasha's code name, "Black Widow?"

"Oh."

Satisfied that he understood, she made her way into the cockpit and sat down beside her friend, who threw her a knowing and teasing look.

"So how was it?" she asked.

"What?" came Andra's innocent reply.

Nat looked in the mirror that showed her the inside of the plane and saw that Steve was on the other side.

"What do you think? How was your time with Mr. Can't-Keep-It-In-His-Pants Stark?"

"It was... okay, I guess."

Another teasing look was thrown her way. "I meant the sex, Koshka."

A smirk crossed her face. "Wouldn't you like to know? Planning a little something for Clint?"

Nat looked shocked and turned slightly red before it faded. "No, and you know it."

"I know that you've got a thing for Birdy," she teased, and her friend shook her head. "Oh, come now. You can't hide anything from me. I've seen the way you look at him, girl."

"I owe him a debt. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Lies! All lies. I know you better than that."

Silence reigned for a few moments before Nat asked, "What makes you think that I like him that way?"

"You. The way you look at him when you're talking, the way that you watch him intently when he's practicing, how you miss him when he's gone; it's all obvious for the trained eye. And my eye is very trained."

"Maybe he should stop giving you marksman lessons. Detail is becoming way too easy for you to find."

"If he was what gave me this ability, then he'd have noticed it too. He hasn't yet, for all we know, so I'm thinking it's that combined with the fact that I'm female and know the signs."

Nat sighed. "He'd probably never return my feelings, anyway."

"That's where you're wrong. I think he does."

"Really?" she asked, with a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"Yep. But we'll talk about this later. How long is it to Stuttgard?"

"We should be there soon."

"Okay. Hey Cap! Come 'ere!" she called, and he walked over to them. "So guys, I've got a plan..."

* * *

_Andra has a cunning plan, mwahahahaha!_

_Review, please! I would love to hear what you guys think! And I'll respond to them, promise._

_- Emmy_


	9. Collecting Loki

**Chapter Nine: Collecting Loki**

~ _above Stuttgart, Germany_ ~

"Are you sure this is going to work, Koshka?" Natasha asked.

"Of course it's going to work. Have faith, Nat," Andra chuckled.

"It's not my faith you need," her friend mumbled. "We're above drop site. Prepare for drop."

"Right," she replied, getting up and standing beside Captain America. "You ready for this, Captain?"

He gave her a look she didn't see and looked back at the wall in front of them. "Are you sure you're ready for this? I've heard he's pretty strong."

"Oh, come on. I've seen him fight before, he ain't that scary."

"If you say so. I just don't think a lady like yourself should be so eager to fight - not that it's a bad thing that you're brave, I meant no offense, ma'am, it's just -"

"I get it, Captain. Back in your day, ladies didn't fight. I'm not offended at all," she assured him.

His relieved breath was audible. "Good, I'd hate to think I'd offended you. I was brought up to respect women."

"Oh, if only men were raised the way you were in today's society. The world'd be a better place."

Nat's voice came over the com system, "Good luck, everyone."

The bay doors before them opened. After giving the Captain a final nod for luck, she jumped from the plane and landed behind a small stone wall that hid her from the view of Loki. She snuck a peek at what the two were doing and saw them having a conversation that was apparently not very friendly, since Loki shot him with his scepter a moment later. Andra took this opportunity to sneak around behind the scene and get behind Loki. She was about to raise her knife to throw at him when a voice burst into her head.

_'Are you really going to try that, Andra?'_

Her hand lowered and she huffed a small breath in annoyance.

_How'd you know?_

_'I can see you plain as day, my dear. You need to work on your stealth skills.'_

_You know what? I hate you._

_'You know you do not mean that. After all, if you so vehemently disliked me, you would have thrown the blade despite my discouragement.'_

She glared all the daggers she could at him and watched him fighting with the Captain. Suddenly she heard Natasha's annoyed voice in her ear.

"Why the hell aren't you fighting?"

Andra sighed. "It's complicated, but I can't."

"And why not?"

"Well... like I said, it's complicated. I'll explain later."

"You had better."

With that, the comms fell silent. Her attention returned to the man in her head.

_So... you can talk to me and focus on the battle at the same time?_

_'More or less. It is getting increasingly hard to concentrate with you in my mind and trying to keep a mental link with you while fighting the Man Out of Time.'_

_His name's Steve, ya know._

_'I honestly care not at this moment, my dear.'_

_Why do you call me "my dear?"_

They locked eyes for a moment, and the God gave her a smirk.

_'Because you enjoy it when I refer to you as such.'_

_What? I do not!_

_'Ah, you claim that, but your inner thoughts betray you.'_

_My own inner thoughts? Betray me? Is that even possible?_

_'Anything is possible, Andraste, if you have the proper incentive.'_

_Don't call me that._

_'Why ever not?'_

_Just don't._

_'If you insist... I do find it quite alluring though; your full name.'_

_Alluring? Are you flirting with me, Loki?_

_'What is this "flirting" you speak of?'_

_Oh, you're so ignorant of human ways. Flirting is... basically things you say to make someone either fall in love or in lust with you._

_'Then... yes, I suppose I am.'_

_WHY ?_

_'You are interesting.'_

_What's that supposed to mean?_

_'You'll find out soon en-'_

He was hit in the middle by the Captain's shield and knocked down for a moment. In that moment, Natasha showed up in the plane and Andra smiled. As she stood up and started walking forward to face the god, the plane started blasting AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill," Tony's signal that he had arrived. He flew in and landed, aiming literally every weapon he had at Loki.

"So, you wanna give up, Reindeer Games?" said her lover, who she had never been happier to see in her life.

Loki gave Andra a look that contained a world of meaning, and surrendered. She made a decision to talk to him about it later if she got the chance. Besides, if she didn't, she could always contact him mentally. But for the moment, her eyes and mind were somewhere else.

She walked up to Tony, who lifted the mask of his Iron Man suit as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I see you thought about what I said."

"No, I just came to save you from getting your ass kicked. Besides, it's my ass, only I get to touch it," he said quietly, placing his metal hands at her hips.

"We'll see about that," she teased, before pressing her lips to his.

Their kiss was passionate, but there was a feeling of urgency from Tony, as if he needed her to kiss him. She pulled away as a voice exploded in her head, instantly giving her a splitting headache.

_'Get away from him, NOW.'_

* * *

_This chapter is shorter... don't really remember why._

_Review, please!_

_- Emmy_


	10. In Person

**Chapter Ten: In Person**

~_ in Stuttgart, Germany ~_

Andra pulled away and placed her hands on either side of her head, moaning in pain. Tony gently grabbed her by the upper arm, worried.

"Babe, what's wrong?" he asked.

She opened her eyes and looked at Loki, who gave her a 'you-had-better-not' look.

"It's... nothing. Just a headache. I'm fine," she lied, as smoothly as she could.

The look in his eyes told her Tony didn't believe her, but he let it slide for now. They took Loki, handcuffed, aboard their plane and took off for the base. He was sat down in a chair on the side of the plane, and at her lover's behest, on the grounds that she obviously wasn't feeling well, she sat down across from him. Their eyes met and she gave him a quizzical look.

_What was that about? _

_'What do you have with that mortal?'_

Her look became smug. _I asked first._

_'Your answer dictates my own.'_

_He's my... _She looked at Tony for a moment, where he was standing and talking to Steve, still in his Iron Man suit. _To be honest, I'm not sure. _

_'Have you had... carnal knowledge of this mortal?' _Loki asked, the look on his face masking the pure disgust in his mental voice.

_Wow, don't think I've heard that phrase since chastity belts were fashionable._

_'Do not mock me. Just answer my question.'_

_ Well... do you want honesty or lies?_

_'Whichever you wish to give me. It is quite simple for me to ascertain when you are lying, as I am the God of Lies, and I will simply pry the truth from your mind if I feel you are.'_

_Oh, aren't you a bundle of joy? Well, since you'll take it from me anyway, then I'll just be honest with you. Yes, I have. Multiple times, in fact. He's what you'd call my lover. Now answer my question._

_'Need I remind you who has control of your true name? I sincerely doubt he is even aware you have one,' _he sneered, with a look of malice aimed at Tony. _'He most likely believes you were originally given the name Andra.'_

_He knows my name! I lived with him for two months, he knows me far better than you can even pretend to! And you're avoiding my question._

_'You are impatient, my dear. What would happen if I told you that from this point on, you are mine and mine alone?'_

_I'd laugh. In fact, I think I might. You can't be serious._

_'I am perfectly serious.'_

She let an actual quiet laugh escape her. _You don't know the first thing about me._

_'Really? Remember, I have full entrance into your mind and memories.'_

_And you think that's gonna help you?_

_'It will help me more than you think.'_

_Yeah right._

Suddenly, there was a crack of lightning and Loki's eye's became quite wide for a second. Steve turned to the tense God and gave him a skeptical look.

"You afraid of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," he answered.

The plane then shook violently, and the men asked what had hit us. Andra looked to Loki, who gave her a look of almost worry.

_'Watch yourself, my dear. This may get violent.'_

_What?_

The bay doors opened suddenly and a tall, muscular, blonde man with a red cape stood on the door. He grabbed Loki by his collar and jumped from the plane. She shot from her seat and instructed Nat to take them lower. With a nod, the altitude of the plane began dropping. Tony started walking towards the open doors.

Steve yelled after him, "Wait, Stark! We need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan," he retorted, "Attack!" And with that, his mask lowered and he shot from the plane.

This made her chuckle slightly, but she got over the humor quickly. After asking her piloting friend how high their altitude was, she turned to Steve, who was getting on a parachute.

"What're you doing, Steve?"

"Getting on a parachute and jumping out after that maniac, what do you think I'm doing?" he replied.

"Taking the long way," she said simply, and ran forward and jumped out of the plane, ignoring the yells of Steve to stop and the screaming of Nat that they were too high.

As she travelled down, she saw her target on the side of a mountain. Loki, by this point, was standing there alone. Aiming for the space beside him, she realized how high they'd been and that she was most likely going to break something when she landed.

_Shit, this ain't gonna go well..._

_'What isn't?' _

_Look up._

Loki looked at her and his eyes became as big as saucers. Feet down, she landed beside him with a sickening _crunch _and rolled. She tried to stand up, but fell. Now she was laying, face in the dirt, in front of the God of Mischief. He knelt down on one knee beside her.

"When I said I wanted people to fall before me, this is not exactly what I imagined, Andra, though your sentiment is appreciated," he joked.

She huffed a breath and propped herself up on her elbows, ears flattening themselves to her head. "Stop the smart alec attitude and help me up, Mr. Glorious Purpose."

"Why should I? I do enjoy you _prostrating_ yourself before me," he answered with a smirk.

Her glare singed his eyebrows as she got to her knees and then sat down with her legs to one side of her. The sound of Tony's repulsion beams could be heard in the distance, along with the crashing of people being thrown into trees. She hissed in pain and caressed her foot gingerly.

"What have you done to yourself, my dear?"

"I think I broke my left foot. Hurts like hell," she explained.

Suddenly, he was sitting across from her cross-legged. She sighed deeply. A large shockwave hit them and knocked over multiple trees, but the two sat unfazed.

"So, my dear, am I as handsome as you have previously thought?"

"_What?_ Where did that come from?" she asked, perplexed.

"You think I am attractive."

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do."

"This is another one of those inner thoughts things, isn't it?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps I was just tricking you into thinking that so I could achieve my goal," he mentioned with a shrug.

"You sly devil!" she exclaimed, but the smile on her face gave away her amusement.

"And you enjoy the fact that I have tricked you, do you not?"

"Why're you so hung up on the idea that I like you or find you attractive? Do you find _me_ attractive? You already said my full name was alluring to you."

"Yes, I do. And can you blame me?" he asked, looking her up and down in a way that made her uncomfortable in a weird fashion.

There was a thudding of feet and Loki was lifted off the ground.

"She might not be able to, but I _can_," Tony growled as he punched Loki hard in the face.

* * *

_... eep. _

_Review please!_

_- Emmy_


	11. Surprise

**Chapter Eleven: Surprise**

~ _on a mountain in an unknown part of the world ~_

Andra watched Tony punch Loki with wide eyes. She hadn't been expecting Tony to be so protective or jealous - not that she minded that he wanted her for his own, it just didn't seem like him. Steve saw her on the ground and helped her to her feet. Andra stood on her right foot, and tested her left. She found she could limp on it, but it was extremely tender, even with her fast healing abilities. A few limping steps brought her to where Tony was beating the God senseless. She placed a hand on his shoulder firmly.

"Tony, stop it," she said, but he paid her no heed. "Tony, stop!" she tried again, to no more avail. "Tony, for God's sake, _stop it_!"

This time, he turned and saw her angry expression, dropping the man to the ground. The mask of his helmet raised and the expression underneath was sheepish, like a child that had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to. A glare of disapproval was all he recieved before she looked to Loki, seeing in his eyes a sort of suprise and inner hatred. She hadn't ever seen emotion in his eyes before.

* * *

~ _upon the jet again _~

Tony had carried her up to the jet and helped her into a seat, making sure all the proper procedures were followed before checking her foot. He was mumbling things about how it was strange how fast she healed, how he hoped she'd be alright, and how much she'd scared him when J.A.R.V.I.S. told him she had jumped. But she wasn't paying much attention to him, and simply nodded or shook her head to his questions.

_'Your injuries are less than I had thought. I'm... glad.'_

_Meanwhile... are you alright? I mean, he gave you a right beating down there._

_'I am perfectly fine. He's mortal and cannot truely harm me. Why do you ask? Are you feeling concerned, my dear?' _The physical form of the God had a small smirk.

_It is perfectly normal to feel concerned when there are extremely negative thoughts in the mind of the person whose psyche is directly connected to your own. I'm merely worried for my own mental well-being._

_'Of course you are, but you are also worried for me, I can feel it.'_

_Oh, you can? You're full of yourself._

His smirk grew wider and he winked. _'I never claimed to be humble.'_

Another glare seared at his eyebrows and might have set them on fire were it not for Tony distracting her by placing his arm around her shoulders. A smile spread across her face and she looked straight in Loki's eyes as she laid her head on Tony's shoulder and snuggled into him. Only a blind man could have missed the sour look on his face.

"You feeling better yet?" her lover asked, rubbing her arm gently.

"Yeah. When are we landing?"

"Soon. Only about an hour more, now."

She pulled away and looked at him. "_An hour_? And you call that soon?"

A chuckle escaped the man across from them, causing Tony to glare at Loki as if he was a scourge of the Earth.

"What're you laughing at, Reindeer Games?" he snarled.

"You, mortal," came the blunt reply.

Before he could get up and sock the God in the face again, Andra placed her hand upon his chest and held him back.

"Don't. He's not worth it," she whispered to him.

He considered it for a moment, then sat back and looked at her. "You're right."

"I'm always right," she said with a shrug.

A flick hit her nose and she shook her head in surprise.

"No, babe, you aren't _always_ right. That's me," he claimed, in an extremely arrogant tone of voice.

"Oh, really? Well, when we get back to the Tower, I'll have to show you just how wrong you are," she teased.

He lowly murmured, with his lips brushing hers, "I think I'd like that."

They pressed their lips together, and she got on her knees on top of the seat to continue kissing him deeply. His hands rested on her waist and played with the hem of her tank top, his fingers lightly brushing her skin, causing her to shiver. The rest of the world disappeared once again as they unintentionally gave a show to the other people in the plane - Natasha merely smiled, while Steve looked disappointed. Eventually, Steve cleared his throat, and the two came out of their bubble. With one last kiss pressed to his lips, she removed herself from his grasp and walked to the front of the plane, nodding at the Captain as she sat down in the co-pilot's position.

"So, _Koshka_, are you and Stark a full-time thing, or is he a fling this time?" Nat asked.

"I'm thinking it might be full-time for a while. At least, he wants it like that for now," Andra explained.

She gave her a look. "You sure you're up for that? I was sure you said you'd abstain from relationships for a long time before getting in another one."

A sigh escaped her. "Technically, it's a continuation of a relationship that never actually ended, and it's been _two years_, Nat. I think that counts as a long time."

"Whatever you say," her friend chuckled.

After hitting Nat on the arm, Andra got up and walked into the main bay of the plane, sitting in the direct middle of the floor and placing her hands in front of her, fingers pressed together. She closed her eyes and tried to reach out with her mind, trying to recover a lost memory from the dredges of her mind.

_'What's wrong, dear?'_

_Get out, _she hissed mentally, trying to push him away.

_ 'I won't leave that easy. Lay down.'_

_What? Why?_

_'Do you recall what happened last time we went to the Astral Plain?'_

_So that's what it's called? That's a cool name. And yes, give me a moment._

She took his advice, if reluctantly, and laid down on the floor. There, she let her mind free, feeling Loki's mental presence hold her own before being sucked inside the void with him.

* * *

~ _on the Astral Plain _~

They were standing on the asteroid again, only he had no helmet or scepter, merely his Asgardian clothing.

"Well, aren't you looking _normal_ today," she commented, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her face.

His eyebrow quirked, and he replied, "Would you like me to put my armor on? Because I could if you wanted."

"Nah, you look fine as is."

A few strides brought him closer to her than he had ever been, and he placed one hand under her chin, tilting it up to look at his face. "You think I look fine? Anything else you think?" he said, in a low, almost seductive tone.

She almost gulped, but the years of being an Agent allowed her to suppress it. "That you're standing awful close to me," she started, then added, "Tony woulda ripped you a new one for this."

The God frowned and took a step away, his hand sliding from her chin. He ran a hand through his already unruly hair, and sighed.

"Must you?"

Confusion slipped onto her features. "What do you mean?"

"_Must_ you bring him up? Just his presence in the real world irritates me, he doesn't have to be _here_ too."

"Why does he irritate you?"

Their eyes met, and she could see he was thinking about something. His emerald green eyes swirled with discontent, irritation, and another emotion, but he tore his eyes from hers before she could identify it.

"I honestly don't know, he just does," he told her, brushing off her disbelieving stare.

Andra decided not to pester him about it. He was dangerous, after all, and if she crossed too many lines, he'd probably kill her. That really wouldn't help her future plans - whatever those might be, she hadn't quite figured them out yet. For now, she was focusing on getting through the whole Loki ordeal alive, and dying would make that rather difficult.

"So why'd you bring me here, anyway?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I wished to entertain myself, and since you're entertaining, I figured I would bring us to the one place where no one else can hear us," he explained, flopping down on a couch that appeared behind him.

Her mind decided to take his sentence off a tangent he might not have intended, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked. "Did I make some joke?"

She shook her head and fell backwards, landing on a large, soft bed. The object that appeared to her made the mental joke even worse, so she laughed harder. When she finally managed to calm herself, she had to take a deep breath.

"Oh, my..." she trailed off, a few chuckles following.

Loki looked at her and smirked, eyeing her mind's choice of comfort to land on. "Alright, now that your mind has materialized _a bed_ in response, you have to tell me what went on in that head of yours. What did you think about?"

She rolled onto her stomach and rested her head upon her hands, giving him a mischievous grin. "You're the God of Mischief, figure it out for yourself."

His eyes widened slightly as he went back over his sentence and realized what it sounded like. "Oh, you naughty girl. I do like the way you think," he commented, getting up and walking to her, kneeling beside the bed and putting his hand back under her chin, leaning forward ever-so-slightly.

He was so close to her; she could feel his breath on her lips and could feel the pull of some kind of gravity. Their lips met, causing her to freeze for a moment before moaning slightly and leaning into the kiss. His lips weren't as rough as she had expected; in fact, they were quite soft and warm. In her subconscious somewhere, she knew that she was far more than just fraternizing with the enemy and cheating on her boyfriend, but her mind didn't care much right now. It was almost as if the touch was real - a thought which scared her a little. If her mind and his together could imagine this, then where else could they go?

Suddenly, a small voice called out, like a child. They broke apart and looked to her left - indeed, a small child was standing there. It was a young girl, reaching out to her and calling, "Mama, I'm tired, is it bedtime?" A motherly feeling spread through Andra's heart, and she knew it was her daughter. Loki pulled a little further away, but kept his hand under her chin. As her daughter walked closer, both of them could see the child clearly. The girl was exactly like Andra; she had her colorations and everything, except for one small detail.

Her child had emerald green eyes.

* * *

_Yes, he kissed her. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe I'll explain that in the sequel._

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review Please! _

_- Emmy_


	12. At Base

**Chapter Twelve: At Base**

_~ on the plane ~_

Andra awoke and stood up, backing away from her place on the floor with wide, horror-struck eyes. Her back ran into Steve's chest and he held her comfortingly with his hands on her upper arms. In a calm and soothing voice, he asked her what was wrong, but she was unresponsive. All she did was stare at the floor. He came around her and rubbed her arms, trying to bring her back out of her trance, to no avail. Tony stood from his seat and walked towards them, worried, and took Steve's place before her.

"Babe, what's wrong? Kitty Cat, are you okay? Answer me, please!" he begged.

"I have a..." she started, and shook her head to clear it, "It was just a dream. Well... nightmare, more like."

He nodded silently and lead her to the seats, sitting her down in one of them and holding her close. One of his hands held hers, while the other stroked her head gently. Andra nuzzled into him and sat there without saying any more words. Steve, on the other hand, had noticed Loki staring at Andra and was interrogating him.

"What did you do to her?" he asked, his voice low and almost threatening.

"I didn't do anything; her suddenly getting up and staring at the floor as if it had offended her was slightly amusing. I was merely watching the scene unfold," the God shrugged.

He seemed to be telling the truth, and he really had no reason to lie, so the Captain let it go for now. Loki, though, spared a glance at Andra and saw her looking at him with a grateful expression. He understood why; he had just saved her from having to explain their mental connection to her... lover. Without being noticed, he cringed at the mention of their relationship. He didn't like the fact that the woman he'd kissed and shared mind and memories with had a lover who was someone other than himself. The idea in itself seemed wrong to him.

Andra was, of course, a bit preoccupied with the feeling of her lover's arms around her. She knew for an almost certain fact that if he figured out the true reason for her discomfort a moment ago, he would hate her and never forgive her. After all, she was supposed to be his and his alone while they were together, but it seemed Loki had other plans for her.

Nat announced that they would be landing at the Helicarrier in a few short minutes. As she felt the plane land, a sense of relief spread over her; there'd be S.H.I.E.L.D. agents waiting to take the God of Mischief away on the other side. Like she had expected, the agents took him away in a pair of handcuffs that he wouldn't be able to break, leading him somewhere unknown. Thankful he was finally gone, she allowed herself to relax, though it was almost imperceptible. Tony placed a hand on the small of her back, leading her out of the plane and to a place aside from everyone else.

"Are you going to tell me what the nightmare was about?" he asked softly.

"To be honest, I don't remember anymore, all I know is it was really scary," she murmured, and paused for a minute, trying to come up with something to tell him. "I just remember this scene of me staring at you and you were laying there... I didn't even check, I just knew you were... dead," she added a little cracking to her voice to make it believable.

He pulled her close and ran a hand through her hair as he looked in her eyes. "I'm here, and you'd better as Hell know I ain't going anywhere. Fury'd kill me," he joked, caressing her cheek.

A chuckle escaped her. "Yeah, he would. So would I."

"Well then, I guess I couldn't take you out somewhere if I'm not allowed to leave, huh?"

"As much as I love the offer; no, probably not. Though who says we have to go somewhere?"

She was answered with a kiss pressed to her lips, which she leaned into, eyelids sliding closed. Their lips moved in sync and her arms wrapped around his neck. The hand that was at her waist travelled down to her hip and his thumb traced circles there as he pulled her closer to him; the hand at her cheek traced the contours of her figure before resting itself on the other hip. Her fingers played with the hair at the back of his neck, pulling on it slightly, making him groan and eliminate all space between them. They broke for air and he attacked her neck, immediately returning the place that he knew oh-so-well and sucking on it, making her moan in pleasure. Her hand slipped down to his chest and stayed there while the other hand embedded itself in his hair and tugged a little. Tony pulled himself from her neck only to return to her lips. His tongue flicked across her bottom lip, but she stubbornly refused him entrance, for which he bit her lip, eliciting a small moan from her. Both her hands slipped up and down his chest, resting on either side of the Arc Reactor.

A cough resonated around them and they slowly came apart, turning to look at the source of the sound. An agent who didn't look like he could have been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. very long was standing there awkwardly.

"Um," he started, and paused, "The meeting's started and Fury wants you guys there."

Andra smiled kindly, taking pity on the poor kid. "Thank you, uh..."

"Andrew," the guy supplied his name.

"Andrew. Nice to meet you, I'm Andra," she stepped forward, shaking his hand, "We'll be going there shortly. And I have to ask, how long have you been an agent?"

"Only about three months now. I'm, uh, not used to this place yet," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

She nodded. "I understand. It was kinda freaky for me for the first six months. You'll get used to it eventually, and I promise you won't see much stuff like us," she motioned between Tony and herself, "We're a bit different."

"Actually," Andrew chuckled, "You're more normal than anything I've seen here. I just came from high school, so..." he trailed off, and they got the point.

"Right. Makes sense now. Well, we'd better get going or Fury's gonna have my head, so I'll see you around, kiddo. And if you need anything, just ask, okay?"

He brightened up and smiled. "Thanks. See you around."

Andra waved at him and took Tony's hand, interlocking their fingers as they walked towards the elevator. When they were standing inside it, she noticed him looking at her sideways.

"What?"

He smiled and faced forwards. "You were really kind to that kid."

She nodded and said, "It's just the way I am, I suppose."

"If that's just the way you are, then how are you so god-damned bull-headed at the same time?"

"Ah," she teased, "That's for me to know and you to never understand."

He flicked her nose again and she did her signature head shake. It was the sweetest thing about her aside from her purr. His hand reached up to do it again, but he found his finger being chomped on. She looked up at him with her glinting green eyes and smirked, releasing his finger. The elevator stopped and he strutted out, dragging her by her hand, which she quickly got him to release.

"It's a stabilizing agent. Means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D.," Tony explained with a flourish (Andra was lost for a moment; what the hell was he talking about?), walking past the table and patting Thor on the arm - "No hard feelings, Point Break, you've got a mean swing," - before turning to someone she assumed was Doctor Bruce Banner and saying, "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." He returned to the podium and started ordering around randomly; "Raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails. _That man is playing GALAGA!" _

Everyone looked at the man Tony was pointing to. Indeed, he was playing GALAGA on his computer. Andra chuckled a little to herself as she walked towards her seat; she may be used to it by this point, but Tony was absolutely insane. She sat next to Natasha, turning and nodding to everyone as she crossed her legs. Her eyes returned to him to find him spinning around with his hand over one eye, looking at all the controls.

"How does Fury do this?" she heard Tony ask, and she nearly face-palmed.

"He _turns_," an Agent she recognized as Maria Hill answered, causing everyone to smile.

"Well, that sounds exhausting," he remarked as he turned around and walked forward to talk to Banner again, "The rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick-start the cube."

Agent Hill rose an eyebrow and asked, "When did you become an expert on thermonuclear astrophysics?"

"Last night."

Andra couldn't help but burst out with a little laugh. "Uh, no, you didn't."

"Actually, I did. I took a look at Selvig's notes and the extraction theory papers before we got _kinky_," he winked.

Her face flushed and she glared at him before looking at the ground in embarrassment. Thankfully, Steve saved her.

"Anyway, does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

Bruce nodded and said, "He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin _just_ to break through the Coulomb barrier."

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect."

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet."

Tony smiled. "Finally, someone who speaks English," he remarked as he walked forward to shake Banner's hand.

Steve cocked his head and asked quietly to the table, "Is_ that_ what just happened?"

Everyone shook their heads and Andra replied, "No, I don't think Tony knows how." The table chuckled.

"It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner," Tony's voice filtered into her hearing again, "Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

"Thanks," he muttered, looking at the floor.

She actually face-palmed at Fury walked into the room.

"Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him," Fury explained as he walked towards the table.

Steve spoke up, "Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it looks an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon," he stated, crossing his arms.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

Thor looked confused. "Monkeys? I do not understand."

"I do!" Steve chirped, "I understood that reference."

Andra shook her head, but smiled slightly at the Captain's comment. She watched as Tony turned to Banner.

"Shall we play, Doctor?" he asked.

Banner nodded, "Let's play some."

Her lover turned to her and beckoned with his left hand. "Come on, Kitty Cat. You'll miss out on all the fun!"

"Watching you do science? Fun? Ever?" she replied sarcastically.

"You know you love it. Come on."

Andra sighed, getting up and walking towards them slightly. She stopped, putting her hands on her hips and cocking them to one side.

"There's no use for me there. Oh yes, I'd _love_ to polish your test tubes."

Tony smirked and his eyes raked her body as he commented, "There's plenty of time for_ that_ later, baby."

A scoff escaped her and she looked at him in shock. "Naughty boy!"

He shrugged and walked towards her, too fast for her to back away. Without much effort, he scooped her up, balancing her with his arms under her shoulders and knees, causing her to shriek.

"You're coming, and that's final," he told her as he marched towards the door, where Bruce had watched the whole ordeal with amusement.

She looked upside down at the receding table and whimpered, "Help me!"

Thor stared at the ceiling, Fury shook his head and walked away, Steve looked pitifully at her, and Natasha raised her hands in a no-can-do gesture, smirking at her. She scowled.

"Some friend you are, Romanoff!" she yelled, as Tony carried her down the hallway towards the science lab.

* * *

_Oh, Tony... why must you be so outspoken? So... was that entertaining? I certainly hope so. It was the aim._

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review Please! _

_- Emmy_


	13. Argument

**Chapter Thirteen: Argument**

~ _in the lab on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

"Tony!" Andra reprimanded him as they entered the lab, "Put me down this instant!"

"Okay, if you insist," he shrugged.

Without another word, he promptly dropped her on the lab table with a _thump. _She sat up and propped herself on her elbows, glaring a hole in the side of his head.

"That was uncalled for."

He gave her a smirk as he said, "You told me to put you down."

A grunt escaped she slid off the cold, metal table and landed on the ground. Tony turned to the computers and started setting up his own equipment. Within a few minutes, Andra was greeted with the familiar sound of JARVIS waking up.

"Good afternoon, sir," the metallic voice resonated in the room.

"Heya, JARVIS. How's everything look?" he asked, still distracted with something.

Bruce exchanged a look with Andra that practically screamed that he was surprised.

"You brought an AI onboard?" the scientist asked.

Andra nodded. "He never goes anywhere without him. I swear, JARVIS is his best friend."

"Jealous?" Tony asked with a smirk from behind a computer.

"Nope. Mostly cause he likes me more than you."

"He does not! He likes me more, don't you, buddy?"

"Only because it is in my programming," the voice answered.

She laughed and even Bruce chuckled a bit, while her lover scowled and started flipping through information and files. Her feet carried her behind him and she wrapped her arms around his waist as she kissed his shoulder.

"You know who I like best," she whispered in his ear.

His smile returned. "You only like me for my skills. And I'm not talking programming or metal work."

Andra scoffed, "That's not why I stick around, and you know it."

"No, it's not. You just can't resist my charm."

"Your charm might have gotten me to come in, but it didn't make me stay. That was something else."

He turned to face her and pulled her closer by her hips. "I knew you were still in love with me," he stated.

His lips pressed against hers in a passionate kiss that spoke volumes. He had missed her... so much. Indeed, he was angry at her for leaving, but forgave her now that he knew why - forgetting it was another matter. Now that she was back with him, he had no intent of letting go, even if S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted her to save the planet. Most of all, he had discovered that he loved her. Of course, he'd never say it, but he'd never missed someone who'd left him quite so much as that. He hadn't missed his father this much after he died - maybe that was a bad example, seeing as his relationship with his dad was... less than loving, and a little less friendly than most. All he knew was that since she'd left, he hadn't been the same. He'd gone back to the way he used to be - drinking, building things, and sleeping with multiple women - but it just wasn't as fun anymore. At the time, he had thought it had something to do with the fighting he'd been through; Obadiah Stane, the whole Ivan Vanko ordeal. But no, it had been her. It always was.

She melted into him, wanting nothing but to kiss him and hold him close. Andra wouldn't admit it to herself, but she knew his words were true. Even after all this time, she still loved him. But in the back of her mind was the nagging feeling that she'd lose him, and soon. Honestly, she wouldn't blame him. There was a giant secret she was hiding from him, and that secret was sitting in a cell less than a hundred yards away.

Her problems melted away as they drew closer together. Nothing mattered so long as he was back in her arms and she was back in his where she belonged.

"Uh, I'm still here," Bruce called, and they pulled apart to look at him, "Don't get me wrong; it's great that you're in love and all that, but I think this isn't the place for..." he trailed off, and they got the meaning.

"Sorry, Bruce," she smiled at him and pulled fully away from Tony, walking to lean on the counter.

"Don't apologize. You love him, and he loves you. It's normal," he explained, paying more attention to the screens in front of him than to her.

Her gaze wandered back to her lover to find him already looking at her with an expression of curiosity. She returned his look and mouthed, 'What?' He just shrugged and went back to work, causing a smile to grace her features as she looked to the floor and shook her head.

Suddenly, his voice invaded her mind. '_Come to me, my dear. We need to talk.'_

_Uh, no. We don't._

_'So what happened while we were on the Astral Plain was nothing? I think not. Come to me.'_

_It might not have been nothing, but it sure as hell wasn't something._

_'Stop lying to yourself and just come, Andra.'_

_I'm not lying to myself, you are. There's nothing to talk about._

She caught him mentally mumbling something about her being infuriating, and she smiled against her will.

_'Don't make me summon you,' _he threatened.

_You wouldn't._

_'Oh, wouldn't I?'_

_No, you wouldn't._

_'Come to me on your own and I won't have to.'_

Andra stood up and walked towards the door of the lab, arms crossed as she resigned to coming of her own free will instead of having the entire base finding out about her connection to him.

"Where're you going, babe?" Tony asked behind her.

She spun around faced him. "I'm just going for a walk. You're starting to bore me," she teased with a wink.

He gave her a smirk in reply. "Don't be gone too long, and you'll find me _very_ interesting tonight."

"Don't doubt it," she called as she turned back around and exited the lab.

As she walked towards the holding cell, she hardened her resolve. She had no intent of giving away anything to the God of Mischief. This visit was going to be short, sweet, and to the point. No dawdling. She'd find out what she needed to know and get away from him. The less time she spent in that room, the better.

Andra entered the room to find Loki in a large glass cell that reminded her of a fish tank. In fact, the comparison made her smile and chuckle under her breath as she walked towards the glass. She came to a stop before him, and he approached the glass as well.

"Well, well. It seems you came to me freely," he smirked.

She glared at him and sarcastically said, "No shit, Sherlock."

"Now, we need to discuss what happened -"

She cut him off. "Nothing happened there that needs to be reflected on. We already know what happened."

"Are you mad at me, Andraste?" he asked, "What have I done to anger you?"

"You mean other than taking Barton and Selvig, enraging my boyfriend, and threatening to enslave my planet?" she snapped. _Not to mention getting in my head and kissing me, for Christ's sake._

"You make a fair point, my dear. But that doesn't matter right now. I want to know about the child," he pressed.

"What is there to know? She doesn't exist," she reminded him, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Care to explain her?"

"Loki, you can't explain a child. You're asking me to do the impossible."

"I know that. But she was a figment of _your _imagination, Andra. Why did you think of her?"

"She didn't come from _me_! I wasn't thinking about anything of that sort!"

A sigh escaped him. "You obviously were, or she wouldn't have materialized."

"How do you know that she wasn't a figment of _your_ imagination?"

"I was not imagining our child!" he spat, taking a step forward.

She nodded slowly. "Uh huh. And you think I was? I've got Tony. If anything, I would have imagined _his_ child, not yours."

"While your lips were pressed to mine? I think not, my dear," he responded smugly.

"Honestly! You are so full of yourself!" she yelled, exasperated, throwing up her hands and turning from him.

"And you are infuriatingly stubborn. That makes us even."

Andra turned back to glare at him. The God was standing with his arms crossed, smirking, eyes glinting with teasing and mischief. She returned his look and stepped closer to the glass.

"We'll continue this later. For now, it's getting late and I don't want my lover to miss me."

His smirk dropped and he scowled at her. "Don't think that you're escaping this. We _will _continue this later, you can be sure of that."

"I don't think I _can_ escape," she whispered to herself as she walked away.

_'You're right. You can't.'_

* * *

_Things are starting to get moving. The plot's warming up and the characters are beginning to be themselves. _

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review please!_

_- Emmy_


	14. Interesting Moments

_This chapter is explicitly sexual. I do not pretend that this story is not this way very often. I have rated it M for a reason._

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Interesting Moments**

~ _in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Andra stormed through the hallways, not wanting to think about the exchange between herself and the God of Mischief. He was really getting on her nerves now. She silently swore to herself that if he contacted her again, she'd run in there and punch him. Unfortunately, she knew that was impossible, so settled for deciding to ignore him.

_'You honestly believe you can ignore me?' _he sounded amused.

_It would work if you'd just leave me alone, for Christ's sake!_

_'I don't want to argue with you, Andra, surely you know that.'_

_You're making it hard to believe._

_'You're making it hard not to argue. You are quite the stubborn girl, you know.'_

_So I'm told. Listen, I don't think you'll want to be in my head for a bit, okay?_

_'You're going to see your... lover again, aren't you?'_

_Who else would I be seeing?_

_'Go to your room.'_

_What? You're not my dad, you can't tell me what to do!_

_'Just do it.'_

_Piss off, Reindeer Games, _she snapped, knowing that she was quoting Tony.

_'Don't taunt me. And if you really want to collapse in the hallway when I rip your mind from your body, be my guest.'_

Her eyes widened marginally before going back to normal size. She changed her course for her room, walking a little faster now.

_'Good girl,' _he praised, as if she were a dog.

_Don't let it go to your head, Quim Breath!_

_'It will be when I'm done with you.'_

_What?_

_'You heard me.'_

She stopped in front of her door and her thighs clenched. It took a large amount of will to get herself through the door and into the relative safety of her room. Her fingers fumbled with the lock for a split second, but she managed to get it turned. She retreated to her bed, sitting down with her fingers gripping the covers tightly, trying not to think of the image his words brought to mind.

_'Lay down, my dear,' _his voice purred.

_What are you going to do if I do?_

She heard him laugh mentally. _'I'm simply going to take you to the Astral Plain.'_

_And then?_

He didn't answer her, but she felt her mind lifting from her body. Andra closed her eyes and let herself go.

She was standing on the asteroid again, the stars around her brighter than ever. However, as she looked around, she saw no sign of the God.

"Loki?" she asked quietly, "Where are you?"

"I'm right here," he replied, from right behind her.

She yelped and jumped forward, away from him. He chuckled as she turned around to face him.

"What the hell?"

He shrugged and stepped closer. She backed up until her knees hit something - which, when she looked, was a bed draped a deep green coverlet with gold piping around the edges. His hands grasped her hips and pulled her to him forcefully. Her light green eyes met with his emerald ones.

"I'm sick of hearing you speak of the Man of Iron with such... emotion. I have control of your mind, but that is apparently not enough for you. If you aren't going to succumb to me, which I suspect you aren't, I'll just have to take the rest of you. From now on, you are mine and mine alone," he growled softly.

Andra forgot how to breathe. His eyes bored into hers with a possessive, hungry look. Loki smashed his lips to hers in a kiss that matched his demeanor. Her mouth moved on its own, returning with a passion to equal his fervor. The hands she thought were hers moved with minds of their own - into his hair, across his shoulders, down his chest, around his neck. A cold hand found its way under her tank top, sliding up her spine, causing her to shiver. This was definitely not what she was used to, that was absolutely certain. But yet, she liked it. Hell, who was she kidding? She loved it; every single sensation was amplified by the cold of his skin, making her break out in goose bumps. Suddenly Loki pulled away, looking surprised and amused. He pulled on her tail… which had wrapped itself around his leg and began to stroke the inside of it.

"Is that so?" he asked quietly, barely a whisper.

His hand travelled down her tail as he moved to release it, and she sucked a breath between her teeth. He turned back to her, and a smirk spread across his face. Then his hand moved farther up her tail and stroked down it again, causing her to whimper, her ears perking up and facing towards him. Again, he tortured her sweetly, running his hand lightly down her tail and curling the end around his hand. She couldn't stand this anymore. Her hand grasped the back of his head and she brought his lips down to hers, kissing him desperately. He smiled into the kiss and released her tail, grabbing her hips and bringing them to him. She could feel his desire imprinting itself in her lower stomach.

It all happened so fast; it was as if she blinked and their clothes were gone. Maybe that was just the magic of the Astral Plain, taking their clothes as their minds wished it to be. They fell onto the bed, Loki between her legs, which he spread wide. He moved until his head was over hers, and he looked down at her. His lips were pulled into a smirk, one that was different than the rest. An emerald green pair of eyes bore into hers, causing her breath to hitch. They were quite beautiful.

"Who do you belong to?" his voice echoed in her ears as his hand ran down her tail yet again.

She inhaled a shaky breath, and bit her lip to suppress a moan. He shook his head.

"No one to hear us here, love. I want you to moan for me," he murmured, kissing her to remove her teeth from her lip. "Now, tell me, my dear. Who do you belong to?" he repeated, pulling lightly on her tail to elicit a response.

A smile spread across his lips as she moaned for him. "You. I belong to you."

He kissed her again, uttering a "Good girl" before moving down and preparing to enter her.

The sound of a melody unknown to him rang throughout the Plain. He pulled back slightly, surprised, and looked at her. She looked sheepish and regretful, her ears folding down just a little.

"That would be my ringtone. Someone's calling me," she explained.

He shook his head and returned to his position, kissing her collarbone lightly several times. "Ignore it."

"Uh," she protested, pushing him off a little, "I really can't do that."

"And why not?" he asked, annoyed with the sound in the background and her refusal.

"Because. In the real world, I'm on call, and according to them, taking a walk. I have to answer it. I don't have a choice."

Loki sighed the most dejected sigh he could and fell to the side of her. She got up and was back in her clothes in an instant. Andra turned to face him, looking apologetic. He gave her an annoyed look.

"Next time, you willturn that infernal device off," he threatened, propping his head up on one hand as he laid on his side to face her.

"There probably won't bea next time. You already know that I've got a boyfriend. This was just –"

His eyes reduced to slits as he stood quickly, his armor reappearing as he strode towards her. He placing his fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"No, my dear. There _will _be a next time. This _will _continue. I will have every part of you; every curve, every crevice, every peak of you will be mine. And that, my dear," he leaned down and kissed her hard on the lips, "Is a promise."

The world around them disappeared. She was laying on her bed, and her phone was ringing beside her. A groan of frustration came from her as she sat up and grabbed it, putting it on speaker phone.

"Forsythe," she snapped.

"Woah, babe, no need to get pissed," Tony's voice said, "It's just me. I was calling to check on you, you've been gone for three hours. That's a pretty long walk."

"Three_ hours_?" she burst, checking the clock beside her. Indeed, it had been three hours since she'd left.

"Yeah. You okay, Kitty Cat?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Guess I just lost track of time. Lot on my mind, you know?" she said, getting up from her seat on the bed and walking to the mirror. Luckily, the effect of sex – _near _sex – on hair didn't carry over into the real world.

"Gotcha. You comin' back anytime soon?" he asked, sounding like he was working on something while talking to her.

"Yeah, on my way. I'm a ways away though, it'll take me a minute," Andra lied. She was closer than almost anyone else to the lab, but she had something she had to do first.

"Alright. I'll see you when you get here."

"See you then," she replied, then hung up.

Her door opened quickly and she stormed out, going the long way round to avoid the lab as she walked to her destination. The boots she was wearing slapped on the ground as she entered the room that surrounded his cell. She came to stop before it, standing with her arms crossed and a pissed expression on her face.

"What the hell, Loki?" she shouted.

"If my memory serves, you liked it just as well as I," he replied, stepping forward and into the light.

"Oh, and you think that means you can keep me as long as you want?"

"I can keep you as long and as much as I like – you belong to me, you said so yourself."

"In the throes of passion! People say anything when their pleasure depends on it," she reminded him.

He smiled a smile like the Cheshire Cat. "Ah, but you don't. A talented liar like myself might be able to, but you were not lying."

She groaned, exasperated. "Well, get this through your abnormally thick skull; I belong to no one. The only way I belong in relation to someone is that I belong _with _Tony. I do not belong to him, or to you, or to anyone. I belong to myself, got it?"

His forearm slammed against the glass and he leaned towards her. "It appears you do not understand the situation you're in. Being with me in your imagination means you want me in real life, whether you care to admit it or not. Being with me in your imagination means you belong to me, I have claimed you, and eventually, your imagination will overtake your mind and you will be mine."

"Why would I ever want to belong to a pompous, arrogant, conceited fool like you? You have stolen my friend, threatened my world, endangered the manI _love_," she stressed, and his expression grew dark and angry, "And you dare to tell me that I want to be yours? I would _never_ want to be with you, Loki, even if my life depended on it," she spat, turning from him to leave, but stopped, turned around, and mentioned, "Oh, and we never got far enough to say that I was _with _you."

His face contorted in an almost terrifying rage. _Almost. _It didn't seem to faze her, another reason why he hated her connection to him sometimes. She could see straight through all his lies, even those that had a basis in truth, and it irritated the hell out of him. Andra smirked to herself and walked calmly through the halls. She had definitely done what she had gone there to do, which was make the God of Mischief understand the situation _he _was in. She knew her position, but she was going to fight it as long as she could. And the best weapon to fight him was the one thing he hated the most at the moment: Tony. The door to the lab opened and she strode in, meeting her lover with more joy than she had since Loki had first entered her mind at Stark Tower. This wasn't just about getting at the God: she had admitted out loud that she loved Tony, and she was rather high on the feeling.

"Hey, babe," she sang as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

He pulled away and hummed in contentment. "What did I do, and remind me to do it again," he quipped before diving back into the kiss.

Their lips melted together as she pulled him close. His tongue flicked across her lower lip, but she forbade him entrance, pulling back and tugging on his hand, trying to get him away from his workstation. His eyes met hers and became dark with lust as he smirked, understanding her intent.

"I'm gonna leave these algorithms in your perfectly capable hands, buddy," Tony said distractedly, staring at Andra.

"Yeah, you do that. I can see you've got your hands full," Bruce drawled, obviously not wanting to mention that he could determine how their next few hours were going to go without a second glance.

Without another word, the two left the lab and went to Tony's room. After he closed the door behind him, there was no stopping them. Tony pulled her to him, his body pressed against hers as they kissed passionately. They loved each other, and both felt now was a good time to do something about it.

His hands caressed her hips, her arms wrapped themselves around his neck. They pulled away for a moment, and his mouth returned to the sweet spot on her neck, sucking on it. Her breathing and heartbeats quickened as she raked at his back with her fingers, then her claws, but retracted them when he pulled away. Tony knelt and reached to her thigh, unstrapping her handgun, trailing his fingers over her skin-tight jeans as he did so. He set it on the floor and untied her boots, slipping her feet out of them and removing her socks. As he stood, his hands slid up her body and over to her right arm, removing the dagger and sheath from it carefully.

He was the only man she would allow to strip her of her weapons, and he knew it. Granted, before he had discovered that she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., he had always thought it was a safety issue that she had a weapon by or on her person at all times. Now he knew that it was not only that, but because she had to. He didn't love her any less because of it.

Once her weapons were gone, he started on her clothing. His hands stroked through her hair and back to her ponytail, slowly undoing the band and letting it fall to the floor. Her hair fell in straight waves around her face and he ran his fingers through it, causing a small rumble to come from her chest, a sound he knew well. She was purring. Slowly, he made his way to the bottom of her tank top, leaving a tingling feeling where he grazed her skin as he pulled it up and over her head and arms. His index fingers slipped into the belt loops of her jeans, ready to pull them down, but she placed her hands on them, stopping him.

"Nuh uh," she breathed, "My turn."

He removed his fingers and she took his left hand, unclasping the watch that was around his wrist and letting it fall to the ground. Andra dropped to her knees, untying his shoes and pulling them and his socks off his feet. Her hands ran up his legs as she stood, then slipped under his Black Sabbath t-shirt, pulling it up and removing it. He moved to take off the long sleeve shirt underneath, but she stopped him, telling him to be patient. Her fingers lightly brushed his skin as she removed his shirt and brought them back down. Her index finger traced over the Arc Reactor and all the way around it as she stared at its glowing form.

This small piece of luminescent metal had saved his life. It had given him hope and made him who he was today: the man most called Iron Man, but she knew as Anthony Stark, her beloved. She had a lot to thank it for. A slight smile crossed her face as she leaned her head down and kissed it. She heard Tony gasp softly, and guessed no one had done that before – she knew she hadn't. It was comforting to know that she was the first.

His palm lifted her chin and he pressed his lips to hers. She felt the love and need in the kiss, and returned it with her own. His fingers once again tugged on the belt loops of her pants, but she responded this time by unbuckling his belt and pulling his button undone as she captured him with a kiss. The jeans fell to the ground. Tony smirked, undoing the button on hers before unzipping them and sitting her down, peeling the skin-tight clothing from her in a flash. She stood to meet him, tail curling in its freedom, and he turned her around, unclasping her bra and guiding the straps down her arms gently until it fell. Then his well-experienced hands glided over her breasts, the ends of his fingers playing with her nipples. She bit her lip to suppress a moan as she arched her back, pushing her breasts into his hands. He chuckled behind her, a sound that made a shiver of pleasure go down her spine, ending at the tip of her tail as it whapped his leg. He knew what she wanted: foreplay. And God knew he loved to play with her.

His hands moved lower, caressing the curves he had come to call companions as his lips brushed against her shoulder. Her underwear slid to the floor. She turned, sliding her hands down his chest and then pulling his boxers down. The erection that gave away her effect on him sprang free. Her fingers wrapped around it, running up and down his shaft in the most tantalizing manner. He truly was Iron Man, as she'd told him many times. It was like soft velvet surrounding the hardest iron beneath. Tony craned his neck as he let out a small moan.

When his deep brown eyes met her light green ones, their looks were equal: hungry and lustful. He pushed her down onto the bed and he knelt between her legs, leaning over her with one hand beside her waist to balance himself. His fingers traced the line of her hipbone before he slipped his middle finger between her folds and began massaging her clitoris gently. She bit her lip hard, but still a moan came from her. Her hips shoved into his hand, causing his finger to slide inside her, where it began to move in a pleasuring circle. She craned her neck and her ears perked up as she closed her eyes.

Tony's lips found her neck as he continued to arouse her, murmuring softly, "Oh, Kitty Cat, I love it when you're in this mood…"

Her only response was a shuddering exhale and a flash of her green eyes that reflected the faint light of his Arc Reactor before he was on his back. She straddled his legs and reached down to his erection. Her fingers played with the end before sliding up and down the shaft, making a tighter grip near the tip. An involuntary moan escaped her lover; she didn't take control often, but when she did, he could come apart at her touch within minutes. Her hands could do things to him no one else's could. He was hers now.

He flipped her over, turning the tables yet again, and reaching into his bedside table drawer, pulling out a foil packet that could only contain one thing. He tore it open and rolled it on before looking down at her and kissing her hard on the lips. He continued down her jaw and to her collarbone, placing one last kiss on it before easing in. She sucked in a breath. He pulled almost all the way out and thrust back into her. The pace picked up, Tony thrusting into her repeatedly, with his hands pinning her arms on either side of her head. She felt the buildup of energy that was her impending climax. His thrusts became harder, needier, and she knew he was close. He was barely coming out in between, ramming into her with a force that drove her over the edge. A cry escaped her as she came around him, all sense driven from her mind as she shattered beneath him. She could barely hear his moan as he let loose. He continued lustfully, riding out his orgasm, before he stopped. He simply laid on top of her for a moment, then rolled to her side.

Tony laid beside her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Her arm was draped over his abdomen, her head resting on his chest, listening to the quiet hum of the Arc Reactor and his steady heartbeats. His lips pressed against her hair, and he sighed contentedly as she did. His head hit the pillow and he smiled to himself.

"You know, Andra, I missed you," he admitted.

"I missed you too, Tony," she breathed, smiling in the post-coital glow.

Her breathing became steady and regular as she succumbed to sleep, and his soon followed, his last conscious breath carrying the three words he couldn't say to her face.

* * *

_Heh... this chapter was definitely my longest... that's a scary thought. Well, I warned you..._

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review Please!_

_- Emmy_


	15. The OTHER Green Monster

_Yes, I know, Andra seems like a slut at the moment. I promise that she's not always like this. She's not supposed to be perfect, anyway._

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: The OTHER Green Monster**

~ _in the Helicarrier, Tony's room ~_

Andra woke up and stretched, feeling the presence of someone beside her. A smile graced her features as she rolled over she put her arm over his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. He yawned.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked her sleepily.

"I just woke up. You?" she responded, sighing.

"I've been up for a while. You look like a kitten when you sleep."

"I know, you've said. Anybody call?"

"Nope. It's only about eight, anyway."

She lifted her head and sat up, turning to look at him. "It's eight? Already? God, I'm supposed to be up at five; Nat, Clint, and I always sign in early and go fight, they'll be pissed if I'm late," she ranted, getting up and pulling on her clothes.

A feeling that she knew well passed through her mind. Her eyes widened and she turned to Tony. She didn't want to go, now wasn't a good time! Despite her best efforts, her eyelids closed and she collapsed to the ground. Tony leapt up and rushed over to her. He took her by the shoulders and shook her, trying to wake her from the seeming sleep she'd fallen into. His abilities didn't stretch so far, though, as to wake someone who wasn't truly in their head. She was somewhere else, but Tony didn't know that. He quickly pulled on his underwear and pants before scooping her up off the floor. He supported her under her arms and knees as he speed-walked to the lab with her.

Bruce was standing behind Loki's scepter when he walked in, scanning it for radiation signatures. When he saw Andra lying unconscious in the man's arms, he came forward and helped him lower her gently to the ground so he could examine her. It was obvious she wasn't injured from her fall, just unable to wake up. It was as if she'd fallen into a sudden coma. He yearned to know why, but the ship's technology didn't tell him anything. All it told him was what he'd already assumed – that they had no way of knowing when she'd wake up or what had happened to her. There was nothing they could do but wait. She was transported to the infirmary by a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. medics, where they laid her in a bed on one side of the giant room. Tony was allowed to stay for a few minutes before they insisted he return to the lab and help with the more important mission – though not in _his _opinion – to find where the Tesseract was. He argued that she was where he really needed to be and "the goddamn Tesseract can wait a few hours!" When it became painfully obvious that they weren't going to let him stay, he turned and reluctantly left for the lab. He and Bruce worked for a while in silence.

* * *

~ _meanwhile, on the Astral Plain _~

Andra's eyes opened slowly. She was back on the asteroid, as she knew she would be. This time though, it was different. She seemed to be in a small depression in the rock lined with stairs, and she was standing with chains around her ankles and wrists, wearing nothing but her hair. Her eyes turned upwards to see Loki standing tall in full Asgardian armor, helmet included, and brandishing his scepter down at her. She involuntarily swallowed as she viewed his expression. He had never looked angrier than he did now, looking down at her with the utmost contempt.

"You mewling quim," he spat.

"What?" she squeaked, finding him extremely intimidating at the moment.

"You _dare _to ask me that as if you do not know your own mistakes," he growled, stepping down the stairs slowly, "You dareto defy me in the most _humiliating _way you could possibly think of, and you pretend not to know what you have done. You denied me entrance and I, in a kind, understanding gesture, allowed you to leave my bed only for you to crawl into bed with the man I despise! I was understanding that you did not wish to alert the others to our connection, but _this _was too far. Your actions were deliberate, you _wanted _to make me jealous. Well, I congratulate you, _mortal_, for doing just what you intended to. And now," he smiled wickedly as he reached the bottom of the stairs, "I shall punish you for your mistakes."

Loki reached out with his scepter and ran the cold, sharp edge along her cheek, cutting it slightly as he did so. She inhaled through her teeth, biting back the pain as the frigid air made the wound sting. He did the same to the other cheek, and she inhaled again. Then he laid the scepter on her shoulder and pushed down.

"Kneel," he commanded.

At first, she refused. But upon seeing the venomous look in his eyes, she complied with his demand. He stepped forward and lifted her chin with his forefinger.

"Now listen to me very carefully, Andraste. I am not going to be kind with this. Nothing I do here shall be pleasant. You have angered me greatly, and for that you are going to be punished."

He dropped her chin and slapped her across the face - -_ hard_. The cut on her cheek stung with renewed fervor. Her training allowed her to fight back the pain and hide it from him. She was pissed now; she had just been feeling rebellious, and now he thought he had the right to punish her for doing something she always did. Her brain raced to come up with something she could use to retaliate, and all she could come up with was dropping a particularly heavy anvil on his head like they did in cartoons. It began to materialize, but it began to disappear almost as quickly. The God looked disapprovingly at her.

"Oh, no, my dear. You thought I would give you a way out? No, you are here to learn your lesson. If you could escape, what kind of a lesson would this be?" he asked rhetorically.

She couldn't believe this; didn't want to! He was _actually_ hurting her without any means of escape. Instantly, her resolved hardened. If he wasn't going to set her free, she wasn't going to give him what _he _wanted; the satisfaction that he could cause her to cry out in pain. The only thing he couldn'tdo is make her obey him completely.

His hand wrapped around her chin and he made her look up at him. A cold pair of lips smashed onto her own, kissing her roughly. Slowly, he pulled away, leaving only half an inch of space between them and looking into her eyes – those light green eyes that looked like a fresh spring leaf. The slits in her pupils dilated and tried to focus on him. He captured her lips in another hard kiss.

"Mine," he growled, sending shivers down her spine.

Loki yanked her to her feet with great force, the chains chafing her wrists and ankles, making her stumble. She caught sight of him. The helmet was gone, and the scepter was being aimed at her heart. The God sported a smug smirk.

"This," he stated, touching her chest above her heart, "Is mine. You belong to me, I can feel it, and I know you can as well."

She delved into her own mind for a moment, trying to pull up anything that would indicate that her heart was his. Mostly, it was Tony's, but there was this dark feeling in the back of her mind that made her think that a little sliver somewhere admired the God of Mischief. Instantly, she tried to squash it. Nothing here should belong to the man that was punishing her for something so stupid as disobedience. It was like she was a child all over again!

"Oh, but disobedience of this kind is not _stupid_, my dear. You have _humiliated _me, and for that you deserve to learn your place: at my feet," his voice sneered, ripping her from her inner thoughts.

"All I did was sleep with – "

A stinging in the other cheek as he slapped it cut her off.

"That is the point. You denied me and fled to the Man of Iron's bed immediately afterward. Your actions are inexcusable."

His freezing hand pressed against the small of her back, pulling her to him. Her naked body pressed flush against his armor, making her break out in goose bumps from the cold temperature. Their lips crashed together, the force of his kiss giving her some pain, but she didn't pull away. That would be admitting defeat, and she wouldn't dare do that. His tongue invaded her mouth, exploring every depth of it as he did so. She stubbornly fought back, but he pushed her into submission and she settled for tickling the bottom of his tongue. Andra tried to bring her hands forward to touch his chest, but the chains prevented her from going any farther than his sides, so she rested her hands there.

Loki pulled away and pushed her to the ground, which she landed on hard, scraping the palms of her hands as she caught herself. Andra brought her right hand in front of her; the base of the palm was skinned to the muscle and bleeding profusely. She winced at the sight – her hand was stinging badly. The God knelt between her legs and took her hand in his own.

"Oh, dear. Well, we shall have to do something about this," he muttered to himself, mostly.

Without a second's hesitation, he pulled her hand to his face and captured the wound in his mouth, sucking the blood away. For a split second, all Andra could think was that what he was doing was slightly gross, but she understood that the wound needed to be cleaned, and she'd done the same for her fellow agents before. But then her hand began to sting sharper than ever – his saliva was acidic and simply irritating the peeled area more. She attempted to pull her hand from his grasp, but he held it tighter. His teeth grazed her muscle and she gasped in pain.

"Loki, stop. Please stop. Loki, it hurts, stop it! Stop!" she practically begged, her voice rising in pitch and volume the longer he continued.

He smiled in his Cheshire-Cat-like way as he pulled his mouth from her hand. His hand wrapped around her left wrist and he kissed her wrist softly before pulling farther away to examine it with a proud look. She suddenly remembered the tattoo he had placed on her left forearm: _A Name is a Powerful Thing._

"It is indeed," he whispered, before leaning forward and kissing her – surprisingly gently – on the lips.

The metallic taste of her own blood touched the tip of her tongue. Still, she didn't pull away; if he was actually going to kiss her gently, she wasn't going to let this moment go. He'd told her outright that he wasn't going to be kind, but here he was, going against what he'd told her. She certainly wasn't going to complain. This was better than anything he'd done so far.

Loki pushed her down to the ground beneath them, keeping their lips connected. His hands trailed down her arms and touched the manacles around her wrists, causing them to disappear. She rotated her hands, reveling in her partial freedom, and then rested them on his shoulders. The kiss deepened, and her fingers entwined themselves in his long hair. His hands supported him on either side of her shoulders as he laid himself atop her. In the back of her mind, she noted briefly that he was suddenly lacking clothing. Loki left her lips only to travel down her jaw, neck and chest, kissing and biting alternately. His bites were hard – not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to hurt. Somehow, the harsh feeling of his teeth sinking into her skin went shooting down _there_, arousing her in a way she never knew she could be.

Suddenly, her perception of the world changed. The chains around her ankles faded away, the ground beneath her disappeared, and it was just the two of them in a vast expanse of stars. Never before had she seen such beauty. An immense amount of pleasure filled her as he did, and she craned her neck, moaning. Their bodies entwined, holding each other close. Each thrust brought them higher and higher, like an invisible ocean's cresting waves. She threw her head back as she climaxed. A warmth filled her and she pulled herself back to him, wrapping herself around him in ecstasy. He pushed her away momentarily, only to pull her back into his arms and kiss her deeply. The pair pulled apart as a bright flash of light blinded them. They looked towards it and found themselves witnessing the death of a star.

* * *

~ _in the lab on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Bruce ran the scanning device over the scepter, checking for any radiation signatures. He looked up at Tony on the other side of the lab. Part of him that felt sorry for the guy. After all, his girlfriend had gone comatose and they didn't know why. Still, he seemed to be handling it alright, aside from the animosity he held over not being allowed to see her. But that's S.H.I.E.L.D. in a nutshell; not caring about anything but their own desires.

Tony plugged algorithms into the computer, solving them at break-neck speed, but his mind wasn't really in it. He was busy thinking about the woman lying in the infirmary. Something was off about what had happened in his bedroom. The look in her eyes when she'd turned to him… it was almost like she _knew _what was going to happen, like she'd done this before. It was something he'd never seen in her eyes before, akin to actual fear. That was impossible though, she never let anyone see her fear, not even him. It was just part of the way she was. He shook his head as JARVIS informed him his calculations were a bit off, deciding he didn't need to linger on this. Right now, he needed to focus.

Bruce touched parts of the screen, looking at his results. "The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract, but it's gonna take weeks to process," he informed the billionaire.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this at around six hundred teraflops," Tony mentioned, performing the action as he did so.

"All I packed was a toothbrush."

A grin spread across Tony's face and he walked towards the doctor. "You know, you should come by Stark Towers sometime. Top ten floors; all R&D. You'd love it; it's Candyland."

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke…" he trailed off for a moment, looking around, "Harlem."

"Well," Tony countered, "I promise a stress-free environment. No tension, no surprises," he shrugged as he poked his companion with an electrified rod, shocking him.

But unlike he'd thought, Bruce didn't turn big and green, he just turned to him and exclaimed, "Ow!"

He examined him for a moment. "Nothing?" he asked, slightly disappointed and fairly impressed. The guy really had it controlled.

Captain America walked in and saw what Tony had done. "Hey! Are you nuts?"

Tony sighed inwardly before replying, "Jury's out," he turned to Bruce again, "You really have a lid on it, don't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve interrupted.

"Funny things are," he quipped.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny," the Captain turned to Banner, "No offense, Doctor."

"No, it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle," he looked at the rod in Tony's hands, "pointy things."

Tony pointed to him with it. "You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut," he said as he did just that.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark," Steve chastised.

"You think I'm not?" he returned, grabbing a bag of blueberries, "Why did Fury call us, and why _now_? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

"You think Fury's hiding something?"

"He's a spy. Captain, he's _the _spy," Tony explained, "His secrets have secrets. It's bugging him too, isn't it?" he asked, pointing at Bruce.

"Uh," he paused, measuring his words, "I just wanna finish my work here and…" he trailed off, avoiding the question.

"Doctor?" Captain America prompted.

He sighed. "'A warm light for all mankind;' Loki's jab about the cube."

"I heard it."

"Well, I think that was meant for you," he said, gesturing to Tony, who offered him some blueberries, "Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news."

"The Stark Tower?" Steve asked, "That big, ugly," he paused as he caught Tony's glare, "building in New York?"

"It's powered by Arc Reactors, a self-sustaining energy source. That thing will run itself for what, a year?"

"That's only the prototype," Tony beamed, walking over to the other side of the table, and turned to Steve, "I'm kinda the only name in clean energy right now."

Bruce nodded. "So why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure files," Tony mused.

The Captain was taken aback for a moment. "I'm sorry, did you say…"

"JARVIS has been running since I hit the bridge," he explained, "In a few hours, we'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever tried to hide," he paused, then held out the bag of blueberries, "Blueberry?"

Steve gave him a stern look. "Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?"

He lowered the bag. "An intelligence organization that _fears _intelligence? Historically _not_ possible."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them," Steve reasoned.

Tony inwardly shook his head and groaned. "Following's not really my style."

Steve smirked. "And you're all about style, aren't you?"

He narrowed his eyes, then said, "Of the people in this room, which one is A; wearing a spangly outfit, and B; not of use?"

Bruce stepped in before things got worse. "Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you."

The soldier looked at Banner for a moment, seeming to consider what he said, then shook his head. "Just find the cube," he told them before walking out.

Tony shook his head and sighed.

* * *

~ _in the hallway with Steve Rogers, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Steve walked down the hall, staring at the ground. What they'd said made sense – at least, some of it. The stuff about the Arc Reactor or whatever it was had confused him, but overall, he got the point. It was all a bit fishy, and he had this nagging feeling that they were right and Fury was hiding something big. But it was against everything he'd learned in the military; you respect your superiors and follow orders. Fury _was _his superior officer on this boat, and he had given him his orders. Besides, it was not his place to go digging around. Still, that nagging wouldn't go away.

As he passed the infirmary, he remembered that something else was off too. Stark had rushed Andra into the lab early that morning – it was nearing nighttime now – because she had collapsed suddenly and gone into a coma. Now they were taking care of her in the infirm, making sure she didn't get dehydrated and keeping a careful eye on her. Maybe he should stop by for a visit. He'd talked to her briefly, and she was nice enough. Definitely different than her boyfriend. Besides, maybe knowing someone cared enough to visit would help her? Though when he thought about it, it wasn't possible. They'd refused to let Stark near her, why would they let him in? Still, the nurses had said it was because he had to go work… _Steve _didn't have anything hanging over his head right now; he was just waiting for them to find the Tesseract. Maybe she'd appreciate him stopping by, if only to check on her status.

He laid his hand on the door handle and turned it, walking into the infirmary. A doctor and a few nurses were rushing into a room, carrying a tablet with a patient file open on it, talking about an Agent Forsythe. It sounded familiar… _Right_! He mentally smacked himself for not remembering. Forsythe was Andra's last name. Steve quickly followed them to the room, stopping at the door. A pair of greenish-gold eyes stared back at him.

Andra was _awake._

* * *

_Aww... she missed the first scene in the lab... sniffle, sniffle. Ah well, she was somewhere far more important._

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review Please!_

_- Emmy_


	16. Discovery

**Chapter Sixteen: Discovery**

~ _in the Infirmary, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Andra looked at Steve as he stood in the doorway. There was something weird about the way he looked at her. There was something weird about everything here in the Infirmary. Come to think of it, why was she here in the first place? Last she remembered, she was in Tony's room getting dressed to go to the training halls. But now she was here, sitting up on a bed in a stainless steel room that felt like a cage.

She raised her left hand and waved at Steve. He looked surprised for a moment, then gave her a sheepish smile and waved back at her, walking towards the bed. The doctors were asking her a million questions, but she only answered in as few words as possible. When she began to feel thoroughly questioned, she looked at Steve with an "okay-could-you-help-me-now?" look. He nodded and told the doctors he wanted to speak with her. When they saw who it was, they immediately agreed and left the room, claiming they'd be back in a while to check on her. He sat down on the chair beside the bed.

"Thanks, Steve. I needed that," she smiled at him.

"I figured you'd feel more comfortable if they were gone, ma'am," he told her, chuckling a little. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I guess. Bit confused as to why I'm here – in the Infirmary, I mean," she clarified, picking up the water beside her and drinking it.

"You don't know?"

She shook her head.

"Stark and Banner brought you here this morning; they said you'd just passed out," he explained.

She set her cup down on her other hand. "What time is it now?"

"Almost…" he looked at the clock on the wall, "eleven o'clock."

"At night?" she asked, eyes wide with shock.

He nodded. "You've been out for a while."

Andra scoffed. "A while? That's an understatement."

"Okay, a lot more than a while," he agreed, smiling.

"Any news?"

"Nothing new. Banner and Stark are still trying to find the cube; Stark thinks that Fury's hiding something –"

"Wait a second," she interrupted him, "Tony thinks Fury's hiding something?"

Steve nodded again. "He wants to know why he called him in now as opposed to earlier. He's supposedly 'the only name in clean energy,' so both he and Banner think he should have been brought in on the Tesseract project. Seems like they think S.H.I.E.L.D.'s using the cube for more than energy."

She cocked her head to one side, considering their theory. "Makes sense. I may trust the man to make good decisions, but he's well-known for keeping things from _everyone_. It'd explain why he wouldn't let Clint and I ask many questions when he assigned us to watch the cube."

"So you believe them? You think he's hiding something too?"

"I'm not saying I believe them, and I'm not saying that we should undermine his authority, but… it's definitely something I'd take into consideration."

"Well, it's a bit late for that," Steve sighed, crossing his ankle over his other leg.

"What do you mean?"

"Stark bugged them with some kinda hacking program. Called it… JARVIS, I think."

Andra raised her eyes heavenward and shook her head. "'Course he did. That's Tony for you. Anything else?"

"Not that I know of."

"Great, thanks," she smiled at him, and he stood up to leave. "Wait!" He turned to look at her. "Do you know when they're gonna let me outta here?"

He shrugged. "No, sorry. Best guess would be tomorrow. They're probably going to want to watch you overnight."

"Joyous. Guess I better make myself comfortable then, huh?"

Steve chuckled and smiled at her. "Guess so."

"Listen, I know you two don't like each other and all that, but could you possibly tell Tony that I'm okay and awake?"

"Of course," he replied, nodding, though his smile had fallen. "I'm sure he'll be glad to hear it."

Andra waved as Steve left the room, hopefully to go find Tony. Then her smile faded and she sighed. As much as she loved him, she didn't want to have to explain her connection to Loki (especially _when _and _where _it had gotten started), but she'd given herself away with that last look before she fell. There was no chance in Hell he'd take this without getting pissed off. After all, he wasn't one for sharing. This was most definitely considered sharing in her book; just unknowingly sharing. Her daydream-like-state was broken as someone entered the room.

"Hey there, Koshka," Natasha announced herself, "How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Can't I come see my friend?" she asked, walking forward and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Andra chuckled. "I suppose. Still, I get the feeling you're not just here to pay me a visit."

"You're right. I'm here to get information for Director Fury about a certain_ incident_ in the God's holding cell."

She sighed. "I'd figured that was why you were here. So he saw me?"

"More like the cameras did and he was informed about it. We watched the footage; what was that whole thing about a child?" her friend pulled a grimace.

"It's a long story," she warned.

"I've got time."

* * *

~ _in the lab, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Steve walked through the door of the lab with a long step. Tony was standing behind a screen on his right side, Bruce to his left behind the scepter. He walked straight up to the billionaire.

"What're you doing here, Capsicle?" he asked blandly.

"Don't call me that, Stark," he warned.

He pushed aside the screen between them. "You know, my dad was obsessed with you. I have no idea why."

"That's beside the point, Stark. You need to –"

"I don't like to be told what to do!" Tony called as he walked across the room.

"I'm not telling you what to do," he sighed.

"Yes, you are. I don't let anyone tell me what to do."

Bruce cleared his throat and said softly in a conspiratorial tone, "You let Andra tell you what to do."

"She's her; that's different," Tony justified, grabbing a monitor and fiddling with different readings.

"Actually," Steve interjected, "She's exactly why I'm here."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Tony asked in a rush, looking at Steve with a slightly worried expression.

"Did she wake up?" Bruce inquired, glancing at him before going back to his screen.

Steve nodded. "She's awake and well. She just wanted me to tell you," he looked pointedly at Tony.

He visibly relaxed as he walked back to his workstation. "So she's okay," he said to clarify.

Steve nodded again.

"Do they know why she went comatose?" Bruce asked.

"Don't think so, but they were only in there for a few minutes at best before she wanted me to kick them out," he told the scientist, who frowned.

"You'd think they'd know by now. Has she said anything about it?"

"Not to me. I passed Agent Romanoff; she was on her way there. Maybe she'll say something to her?"

"Maybe," the scientist agreed.

Steve turned around to say something to Tony, but he was already gone.

* * *

~ _in the Infirmary, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

"Not what I was expecting," Natasha mentioned once Andra had finished telling her everything.

"I wasn't sure _what_ to expect," said a deep voice; Fury had entered the room.

"Sir," Andra nodded at the Director.

"You haven't told him anything?" the man asked.

"No, sir. He hasn't asked, either. Kinda caught me off guard, I thought he'd ask about S.H.I.E.L.D. at some point, but he hasn't," she admitted.

_'Do you wish me to ask?' _the now-familiar voice entered her mind.

_Not really, to be honest._

"He's contacting you again, isn't he?" Nat asked. She had obviously noticed the slight change in her demeanor.

Andra nodded, knowing there was no point in lying. "He does it at random intervals. Probably whenever he feels like it."

"Are you saying he's implanting thoughts in your head?" Fury asked, the tone implying that he was manipulating her, "Agent Forsythe, are you a risk to this team?"

"I wouldn't call it a team, per se, but no, I'm not a risk. If I were, I wouldn't be putting up so much resistance."

_'Yes, you are quite stubborn, my dear.'_

She smiled involuntarily. Natasha and Fury gave her slightly surprised looks, which made her giggle.

"He's confirming my statement. He told me that I am quite stubborn," she explained.

"Good to hear," Fury stated, "Now listen, Agents. I want this to stay between the people in this room. If this gets out, it could cause the team to stop trusting each other," the two women looked at each other with a look of skepticism, "I know they don't trust each other now, but I hope we can change that. Now, Agent Forsythe, if you could try to keep Loki from getting any information; and Agent Romanoff, I want you to go find out what that bastard's planning."

"Gladly," Nat replied, nodding with an impassive expression, but Andra could tell she was happy about this.

"Gotcha," Andra did the same.

"Dismissed," Fury said, turning and walking out of the room.

Natasha looked at Andra, "Looks like I've gotta go. Wish me luck. Distract him if you can," she added with a smirk.

"I'll see what I can do," she replied with a smile as her friend left the room.

Andra drank a little more water before setting the cup on the table beside her. She closed her eyes and laid her head back on the pillow behind her, trying to order her thoughts. A pair of footsteps interrupted her.

Tony walked in silently, seeing her sitting up, but with her head back. Her face was just as peaceful as it always was while she was asleep. A smile spread across his face as he walked forward and sat on the edge of her bed. He took one of her hands, which were laying across her stomach, and held it between his own. It was strange to see her laying in a hospital bed. She appeared so much weaker in that setting, even though she was probably just as strong as ever. His thumb rubbed over her hand as he looked at it, examining the ends of her fingers and the back of her hand. It gripped his back suddenly, and he looked up; deep brown eyes meeting light spring green.

"Hi," her soft voice played upon his ears.

"Hi," he murmured, his abnormally quiet voice landing on her ears like music. "I thought you were asleep."

"I think I've slept enough for a while, don't you?" she giggled.

His smiled widened. "Yup. A whole day's a bit overkill."

"Tell me about it."

They both laughed. Andra sat up further, crossing her legs Indian style. He released her hand slightly, but they kept their hands together.

"How're you feeling?" Tony asked, concern lacing his tone.

She yawned. "I'm fine," she replied, laughing a bit. "Steve said they aren't gonna let me out until tomorrow."

"Damn," he cursed softly. "And here I thought I could steal you away."

"Oh, you can come steal me in the morning. And by the way, they said it was just because of exhaustion. I've been doing a lot of staying up lately."

He gave her a strange look, but said, "Okay. If they think so. Makes sense."

"Tony, is something wrong?"

"No, why would something be wrong? It's not like my girlfriend collapsed or anything," he joked, winking at her.

"Oh, come on," she laughed. "Only you would joke about that."

"Jokes diffuse tension, and I hate tension."

"'Course you do. By the way, I heard about your little conversation with Steve and Bruce. You think Fury's using the cube for something more than energy?" Andra asked, knowing already the answer.

Tony shrugged. "He's a spy. It only makes sense that he's hiding something from us. Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s a selfish bastard, and I don't see them providing energy for the planet," he reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess so. We've never been in the energy business before… I never heard anything about providing energy with the Tesseract while I was on duty at P.E.G.A.S.U.S., you sure that's what they told you?"

"P.E.G.A.S.U.S.? You mean –"

"The one that sent you the equipment to build the Particle Accelerator? Yes. We've been holding the Tesseract there, and I was guarding it. Both Barton and I were there."

Tony paused for a moment and looked at her seriously. "And you probably can't tell me whether or not they had anything weird there? Like… something secret they wouldn't tell anyone about?"

She gave him an "are-you-serious" look. "Tony, _everything_ S.H.I.E.L.D. does is something secret we wouldn't tell anyone about."

"Good point. Shoulda thought about that."

"Shoulda; coulda; woulda; _didn't_," she teased him.

A nurse walked into the room. "Mister Stark, if you could please give Agent Forsythe a chance to rest; it's almost one in the morning. You can come see her later," she suggested, smiling sweetly.

"But –"

"Tony, you should go. You heard her; it's almost one. You need sleep," she told him, "They need you on your game to find the cube."

"The computers are finding the cube," he reminded her.

"And who's giving them the algorithms they need to do so?"

Tony sighed. "Fine. Just so you know, I feel like a child being scolded."

"Good," she smiled, pulling him closer to kiss him.

His hand slipped behind her head, cradling it as he strove to keep their lips interlocked. She pulled away and smiled as she rested her forehead against his.

"Tony. Sleep," she whispered.

He whined like a small puppy, and she giggled.

"Go on," she urged, giving him another small kiss – which he tried to hold out for all it was worth – before pushing him away and gesturing at the door.

He walked towards the door, but turned around and pointed at her. "I expect you to be awake when I come get you tomorrow," he told her.

"I will be, promise." Andra blew a kiss at him, and he blew one back at her as he left.

* * *

_So S.H.I.E.L.D. knows now. _

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review please!_

_- Emmy_


	17. Time Bomb

**Chapter Seventeen: Time Bomb**

~ _in the Infirmary, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Andra opened her eyes slowly. It was slightly surprising that she'd actually fallen asleep last night, seeing as she'd been "asleep" for an entire day beforehand. Then again, she wasn't really resting during that time. No, being tortured by the God of Mischief _definitely _didn't count as resting.

_'That was not torture,' _his voice reverberated in her mind.

_ Really? Were you the one being pushed and bitten?_

_ 'If I truly wanted to torture you, it would hurt far worse, Andraste.'_

She paled slightly. _Joyous. Not sure I want you to want to torture me._

_ 'You do not,' _he confirmed. _'Though if you continue to associate yourself with the Man of Iron, I may be forced to do so.'_

_ Easier said than done. I can't just drop him out of the blue. It's been two years since we were last together and we still want to be together; that's gotta mean something, right?_

_ 'It should mean nothing to you. There are more pressing matters; he is not of consequence.'_

_ Not to you, perhaps. But to me, he matters a great deal. You already know my feelings for him; I've told you in the past. _

_ 'Yes, I know of your affections, and they are not pleasing. Your affections should lie with whom you belong to.'_

Andra didn't respond immediately, but she knew he could sense her hesitation. A wave of anger and frustration hit the back of her mind like a sledgehammer; she knew they were his emotions. The door to the room opened and the face of her beloved peeked through the crack. She forgot all about the God and smiled at him – a wide, amused, loving smile – and he smiled back before entering the room. Tony walked up and sat on the edge of the bed, kissing her hand.

"You're awake."

She chuckled. "I promised I would be, didn't I?"

"You did. So, you ready to get outta here?"

"Yes, please! I've been stuck in this box – and this bed – far too long," she moaned, and he laughed.

Tony got up, holding out his hand to her. "If you would please take my hand," he said in a sophisticated voice.

Her smile got wider and she laid her hand in his. "Lead the way, babe," she told him as she stood up and took a step towards him.

The two left the room hand-in-hand, and walked out the open doors of the Infirmary. Andra sighed; it was nice to be out of there finally. That place was just too cramped for her. He started walking towards the lab, but she steered him to her bedroom. His eyes twinkled; one eyebrow raising as he smirked at her, asking the silent question: "Feelin' kinky, are we?"

"We're just stopping by for a second –"

"I can do a quickie in your room," he offered.

She scoffed and hit him on the arm with her other hand. "Not what I meant. I need to change clothes real fast; I've been in these since… day before yesterday," she mentioned, not even flinching at the idea of wearing the same clothes so long. When you're on a mission, you make do with what you have and don't worry about luxury.

"Fine, but I get to watch," he teased, winking.

Her glare seared the side of his face. "Must you?"

"Yes."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes, "You can watch."

"Well, it ain't like I haven't seen more than that before," he reminded her.

"True, and I get the feeling you're proud of it."

"A little."

She looked at him. "A little?" she asked blandly; she knew he was lying.

"Okay, yes, I'm proud to say I have seen you naked," he admitted, "There, you happy?"

Andra smirked. "Maybe."

They reached the door to her quarters, which she opened with her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge. It was impossible to enter her room without one, since she was a high-level agent that usually had paper copies of a few top secret files laying around on her desk. Currently, she had the old one from her last mission – a certain criminal mind was staying near Nice, France and she was sent to take him out – and the one before it, along with a new file that had probably been placed there by Phil – her copy of the criteria and names for the closed Avengers Initiative and the current situation with the Tesseract.

Tony stopped by to look at her desk while she walked to the other side of the room and pulled another set of clothes from the drawers: a S.H.I.E.L.D. tank top and long, black, skin-tight pants. This was what she usually wore, but not her "uniform." No, her uniform was like Nat's; black bodysuit and her knee-high boots. If she was honest – which she rarely ever was when it came to this – the suit was a bit too constricting for her. She couldn't move in it, and her main ability was movement.

"Really? You went to France without me?" she heard Tony ask behind her.

"Yes. Why are you looking through my files?" she returned, grabbing the file from him and setting it on the table again.

"I was curious. Who's – or, who _was _Lovey-nellie Hushy-whatever?"

"Lovieneli Huschimont*," she corrected him, and paused before deciding she could explain it to him – the guy was _dead,_ not like he cares. "Huschimont was a major crime… boss, I guess you could say, in Europe. His empire ranged anywhere from convenience store robberies to the thefts of precious items worth over a million Euros. S.H.I.E.L.D. got involved when he started getting paid for hiring assassins like me to take out billionaires all over the world. If I hadn't have been sent in when I was, he might have become the richest man in Europe – not to mention the most dangerous."

"Wow. You make it sound like you're a hero," he said honestly.

She froze, her expression becoming somber. "I'm not a 'hero,' Tony. Heroes save people, not kill them. That's all I do; kill people. Granted," she said, turning around to grab more clothing, "I do it for the right people now, but does that really make it any better?"

"_Now_? You didn't before?" Tony asked, his voice low and hesitant.

Again, she paused. She didn't really want to have this conversation, but he deserved to know. The main basis of love was trust, right? Andra sat down on the bed and motioned for him to sit across from her. When he did, she began her story.

"I've always been fond of fighting. I'd practice throwing knives at squirrels or deer near my village when I was little. When I grew up, I was… bored. I have a _very_ specific skill set, and it doesn't really aid with public relations. I don't know how long I spent looking for work somewhere, _anywhere, _doing anything. Sometime, I guess I went… insane. I started abducting people and torturing them if they made me too angry. Back then, I _liked_ it; having the choice between whether someone lives or dies at my fingertips. I loved the challenge of getting someone away from their friends or family without anyone noticing. I dunno…" she trailed off momentarily, shaking her head, "I guess it just got too easy at some point, so I started advertising myself as an assassin for hire. Did jobs for whoever offered me the most challenging assignments. I didn't care about money; for me, it was the thrill of the hunt and the kill. I was… an _animal_.

"I ended up being pretty popular. Not hard to see why; skilled assassin that doesn't charge high, what better deal is there? Unfortunately, my popularity painted a big, red target on my back. Somebody was sent to kill me – more aptly, _Natasha_ was sent to kill me. This was before either of us worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., by the way," she mentioned, to give him a vague outline of time, "We'll get to that later. When she found me – at the time, I was staying somewhere in, uh… Latvia, I think, not sure. Doesn't matter, really. Anyway, when she found me, we fought for a good long time and decided that we'd work better as a team. Don't ask me _how_ that happened; I think we hit each other on the head a little too hard once or twice.

"But we started doing jobs together. It was a kind of… _competition_ for us. We'd come in from separate sides and whoever got to the target first won," she chuckled lightly at the memory, "Hell, I think we even kept score. We were the most efficient out there; we always covered our tracks completely. Well, not _completely_. S.H.I.E.L.D. ended up being able to track us somehow. We'd done a lot of nasty things to people, Tony. Our track records weren't pretty – still aren't. In the end, they sent Clint to take us both out. He was the best they had then, they'd figured he could take us out pretty easily, but… he made a different call. Spared us in return for us returning with him to S.H.I.E.L.D. We took the offer; it's not like we had another choice. It was this or_ death_.

"We both owe him our lives. Without Clint's decision to let us live, we'd be corpses somewhere, _if that_. They didn't let us off the hook, though. We've both got a lot of red in our ledgers, and we both want to wipe it out. To be honest, that's part of why I left so suddenly; they called me in, and I need to clean my slate. The only way I can do that is by doing enough good to outweigh the bad. I need to make up for my years of working freelance, and I'm doing it the _only_ way I know how," she concluded, and they sat in silence for a moment.

"_Damn,_" Tony whispered, looking at the bed-sheets and mulling over the information she'd just told him.

"I know. I was messed up back then," she grimaced, remembering far too much, then added, "I'm still not totally normal."

He was already looking at her when she looked back up. "Babe… that can't be you," he said, shaking his head as he looked in her eyes.

"But it is."

"No. You're kinder than that. You're nice to other people, you can work with them, and… you can love," he mentioned, as if that made a whole world of difference, "Someone like that can't love."

"Tony, people are more than just black and white. Yes, I can be nice and I can be kind, but those are things I mostly learned_ after_ S.H.I.E.L.D. took me in. They helped Nat and I readjust to a society where we weren't just somebody else's tools and we actually had to interact on a personal level with other people. In other words, we're just good actors," she told him, shaking her head and looking down at the bed, "As for your comment about love… everyone can love. It's just _what _or _who _they love that makes the difference. I was born to a good family; I know what love feels like and I know what it is to love. It was only after I left home and left town that things got out of hand. Tony, you are living proof that 'people like that' can love. I _am_ like that, and I love you."

She looked up in surprise at her own words. Andra half-expected Tony to get up and run away; he never was one for commitments like love. But he stayed there, a small smile gracing his features.

"You love me," he repeated, seeming to have heard nothing she'd said but that.

"Yes, I… do. Did you hear _anything_ I just said?" she asked.

"Yep; you said that you were brought back into society by S.H.I.E.L.D., you were born to a good family and that you love me," he rattled off, his smile growing at the last point.

"Wow, you actually_ did _listen to me," she muttered, then said at regular volume, "So, do you have any more questions, or can I get dressed now?"

"Nope, I think I'm good."

* * *

~ _a few minutes later, in the lab, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Tony strode into the science lab, trailing Andra behind him. Their hands interlocked, they walked to what had practically become Tony's side of the room. He let her hand go after a tight squeeze and began fiddling with the computer, checking their progress on the Tesseract. All they needed were a few final algorithms and they could start _really _searching for it – or more, the computers could.

Andra hopped up on a table and sat there, swinging her legs back and forth. Watching Tony work was not one of her favorite pastimes; it was boring unless she was helping him.

"Oh, by the way," Bruce piped up, "Your decryption program popped up with a window last night while you were gone. I didn't touch it; I figured you'd want to be here if it found anything."

"Really?" Tony asked, walking across the room to a screen beside the table with Loki's scepter on it. "Hmm… it's asking whether or not I want to access the top-security files. What did JARVIS think I wanted; their phone number? Of course I want to access the top-security files!" he complained.

"Tony, it's only a safety precaution, I'm sure. We keep our top-security files on tight lockdown. When it comes to those, the backup firewalls of our backup firewalls have backup firewalls," she told him. "By the way, you know I'm not exactly happy with what you're doing, right?"

"You haven't complained," he mentioned.

"That's because I'm not against it, either. I'm not pleased that you're breaking into the Agency I work for, but if I didn't work here, I'd be doing the same thing."

Tony gave her a look as he sat up on the side of the table. "So, you approve, but you don't approve. Could you be a little more confusing, I'm not completely confounded yet."

"Oh, ha ha. You know what I mean," she said as she rolled her eyes.

Tony watched as it went through files and skimmed the titles, looking for anything that sounded interesting. "Look, there's that Vanko guy who tried to electrocute me!"

"What?" Andra exclaimed, "Somebody tried to electrocute you?"

"Long story," he told her, "I'll tell you later. There's your European crime boss."

"Joyous," she said sarcastically, "Remind me why we're going through these?"

"Fury's hiding something, and I wanna know what."

She sighed, and Tony shrugged as he glanced at her. They all stayed silent for a moment, then Tony – presumably out of pure boredom – started reading the titles aloud.

"Ooh, there's Miami," _Heh… little does he know that mission was why I met him._ "Montenegro," _Hey, I remember that! Clint and I did that one together._ "Nairobi," _I hated that guy; he had a mean swing. _"Nepal," _Ouch… I heard about that from Natasha. _"Odessa… Ukraine? Okay…" _I was there. _"Paris," _There, too. _"P.E.G.A.S.U.S.! There we go," Tony exclaimed, and she looked up. "Blah, blah, blah… me… more me… even more me… what am I supposed to be looking for? I can't go through all of these," he complained.

Andra thought for a moment, then it came to her. She whispered it to herself, then repeated it louder; "Phase 2."

"Huh?"

"Phase 2," she told him, "I overheard Fury and Agent Hill talking about it once or twice. I never asked what it was, but something gives me the feeling that's what you're looking for."

"Okay," he muttered, touching something on the screen.

A few seconds later, a loud beep went off.

"Access denied? What do you mean, access denied? Try again," Tony told the computer as he repeated the command.

"Uh, Tony?" she tried to get his attention.

He waved her off. "Not now, babe, I'm focusing."

"Tony, this is important. The S.H.I.E.L.D. mainframe has instant hacking detection!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he asked, leaning to fully look at her.

"The mainframe has instant hacking detection. You've been denied access, and now they'll know you're in."

"Well, shit. At least we're getting into it now. They must really not want us to know what this is."

She nodded. "Considering the fact that they didn't let Clint and I know about this project and we're extraordinarily high-clearance agents, they probably don't," she agreed.

A few seconds went by with nobody talking. Then Fury burst into the lab.

"What're you doing, Mister Stark?" Fury asked in a loud voice.

"Uh, kinda been wondering the same thing about you," he replied.

Fury gave him a look. "You're _supposed _to be locating the Tesseract."

"We are," Bruce interrupted, "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now," he gestured at a screen behind the director, "When we get a hit, we'll have the location within a half-mile."

"And you'll get your cube back. No muss, no fuss," Tony added, looking intently at the screen, which had several files on it, "What _is _Phase 2?"

Fury gave Andra an extremely pissed off look, to which she raised her hands and lied, "I didn't do anything."

Just then, Steve stormed into the lab and set a heavy gun down on the table beside her. She slid away from it to get a better look.

"Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. used the cube to make weapons," he explained, sounding extremely mad, then turned to Tony, "Sorry, the computer was running a little slow for me."

Fury turned to Steve. "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does _not_ mean that we're –"

"I'm sorry, Nick," Tony interrupted, turning the screen around, "What were you lying?"

On the screen were the very-obvious plans for a missile powered by the Tesseract. So they really _were _using the cube to make weapons. The very idea made Andra's blood boil. She'd been at least partially expecting it, but they didn't even know what the Tesseract could do! To be making plans for weapons of mass destruction with it was insane! Her ears cocked back and she glared at the screen, then Fury.

"What the hell is _that_?" she exclaimed, hopping down from the table in outrage.

"I was wrong, Director," Steve said, shaking his head, "The world hasn't changed at all."

Natasha walked into the room, followed closely by Thor. They looked at the screen, and then at Fury. Bruce leaned against the table and gave Natasha a pointed look.

"Did you know about this?" he asked, sounding very upset.

Nat looked back and responded calmly, "You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"

He scoffed. "I was in Calcutta; I was pretty well _removed_."

"Loki's manipulating you."

Andra rolled her eyes and leaned against the table. _Join the club, _she said mentally._ And here I thought I was special. _

"And you've been doing _what_, exactly?" he asked, sounding more irritated than before.

Natasha crossed her arms. "You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly, you get a little twitchy," he replied, and gestured at the screen, "I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

Fury sighed. "Because of him," he said, pointing at Thor.

"Me?" the God asked, surprised.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that _leveled_ a small town," Fury clarified, "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly – _hilariously _– outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor said.

Fury turned to him. "But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the _only_ threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched; they can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve asked sarcastically.

"That wasn't _control_. Looked more like _chaos_ to me," Andra mentioned, crossing her arms.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies," Thor explained, "It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

Andra rolled her eyes again and sighed, "Oh,_ joy_."

"A higher form?" Steve asked, as if he didn't believe war could get any worse that it was now.

Fury gave Thor a look. "You forced our hand. We had to come up with _something_."

"Oh, so you came up with _that_?" Andra snapped, gesturing at the screen.

"Nuclear deterrent," Tony said, "Because that always calms everything right down," he sarcastically mentioned.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury asked.

Steve stepped forward. "I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep –"

"Wait, wait; hold on!" Tony exclaimed, "How is this now about me?"

Steve turned and glared at him. "I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

"Hey!" Andra shouted from behind him, standing up fully, "Leave him alone, he has nothing to do with this!"

"Yeah, listen to my girlfriend," Tony told him.

On the other side of the room, Thor shook his head and sighed. "I thought humans were more evolved than this."

"Excuse me," Fury turned to him, "Do _we_ come to _your_ planet and blow stuff up?"

"Did you always give your champions such mistrust?" Thor asked, stepping forward.

"Are you all _really_ that naïve?" Nat asked, exasperated, "S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors threats."

"_Captain America_ is on a potential threat list?" Bruce returned, looking skeptical.

Tony turned back to Steve. "_You're_ on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?"

"Tony…" Andra warned.

"I swear to God, Stark. One more crack…" Steve trailed off in a silent warning.

"Threatening!" Tony shouted, pointing at him, "I feel threatened!"

Andra gave him an unimpressed look. "What are you, _seven_? Come _on, _guys."

"He's not seven; he's ninety," Tony corrected her and looked back at Steve, "Act your age, Capsicle."

"Why don't _you_?" Steve replied.

"Would you two _stop it_ already?" Andra snapped, "This isn't helping anything!"

Tony scoffed, "Does Spangles here _ever _help anything?"

"I help more than you," Steve told him.

"And who is it that made the world's first purely clean energy source?" Tony asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

"And then used it to power _only _his own tower?"

"With plans to expand its capacity to power entire cities."

"Well, you're –"

Andra pulled Steve back by his elbow, but faced Tony. "Both of you, stop fighting! This stupid argument isn't going to help anything. We should be focusing on finding the Tesseract. _Control_ yourselves!"

Thor's booming laugh echoed around the room. "You speak of control, yet you court chaos."

Andra looked at him with a shocked expression. _How the hell did he find out?_

"That's his M.O., isn't it?" Bruce asked, referring to Loki, "I mean, what are we? A team? No, we're a chemical mixture that _makes _chaos. We're… we're a time bomb."

Fury gestured to him. "You need to step away."

Tony put his arm around Steve's shoulders and Andra tensed. _Oh, shit._

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" he asked.

Steve pushed him away and shouted, "You know damn well why! Back off!"

Tony came toe-to-toe with him. "Oh, I'm starting to want you to _make_ me."

"Big man in a suit of armor," Steve said, "Take that away, what are you?"

"Genius; billionaire; playboy; philanthropist."

"_Playboy_?" Andra repeated loudly, her teeth bared and her ears flattening against her head. _He did not_.

The other side of the room went silent.

"Okay, so maybe I'm not a playboy –"

"That's a lie," Natasha said from the other side of the room.

Tony glared at her for a second, then turned back to Andra. "It was only while you weren't around; I had to have something to do –"

"Something to _do_?" she snarled, then glared at him.

"Maybe that wasn't the best word to use for it, but I was bored –"

"Oh, keep talkin', _Anthony_," she snapped, and he winced – she used his full name when she was _really _pissed off. "Just keep diggin' yourself deeper. At this rate, you might hit _China_."

Thor raised an eyebrow. "But we are in a –"

"Just shut up," everyone on that side of the room told him.

Tony looked pitifully at her. "Babe –"

"_Don't_. Maybe you are a genius and a billionaire, but you had better as _hell_ not be a playboy, because if you are, I swear to God I will –"

"I get the point. I won't be a playboy anymore, _promise._ I can be faithful; I'll prove it to you," Tony pleaded.

"Good. You'd better stick to that promise, you hear?"

He nodded, then turned to Steve. "Okay, I'm a genius; billionaire; philanthropist."

"Well, I know guys with none of that worth ten of you," Steve told him. "Yeah, I've seen the footage. Only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play; to lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire," Tony said.

Steve smiled and looked down at him. "Really? Not even for her?" he asked, gesturing at Andra.

He froze for a second, look at her, then replied, "If it were her, I wouldn't have to."

"Always a way out, isn't there?" Steve asked, now smirking. "You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

Andra tensed, a memory flooding back to her.

_ "Babe, despite your own ideas, the world thinks you're a hero. Heroes don't back out from a fight that helps everyone."_

_ "This one does."_

Tony stepped forward, eyes narrowed as he glared at Steve. "A hero? Like you? You're a lab rat, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a _bottle_."

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds," Steve suggested.

Thor's laugh echoed again in the room. "You people are so petty and tiny," he mentioned.

Tony backed away, rubbing his forehead in an 'oh-brother' gesture.

"Yeah, this is a team," Bruce said sarcastically.

Fury looked at Natasha. "Agent Romanoff, if you could escort Doctor Banner back to his –"

"Where?" he asked, "You rented my room."

Fury sighed. "The cell was just in case –"

"In case you needed to kill me," Bruce finished for him, "But you can't! I know! I _tried_!"

Everyone's eyes widened and they stared at him.

"What do you mean, 'you tried?'" Andra asked quietly.

"I got low," he explained, "I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth… and the Other Guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!" he shouted, and turned to Natasha, "You wanna my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

Bruce grabbed the scepter from behind him. Natasha, Fury and Andra's hands all went to the guns at their sides, unlocking the holsters and holding the grips. Steve stepped forward with his hands out.

"Doctor Banner," he said softly, but forcefully, "Put down the scepter."

Bruce looked down at his hand, and looked at it with a shocked expression, as if he hadn't known he was grabbing the scepter in the first place. Suddenly, from across the room, the computer beeped. Everyone turned to look at it. Tony stepped forward.

"We've got it," he told everyone.

Banner set the scepter down and started walking towards the computer. "Sorry kids, you don't get to see my little party trick after all."

Andra sighed. "I'm not sure we wanted to," she muttered under her breath.

"You have located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I can get there faster," Tony mentioned.

"I hope you know; on no uncertain terms am I going to let you go after that thing _alone_," Andra told him.

Steve stepped between them. "Look, all of us –"

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard," Thor interrupted him, "No human is a match for it. None of you could retrieve it."

Andra turned to the God. "Excuse me, do I _look_ human to you?" she asked.

While she was saying that Tony turned to leave, but Steve grabbed him by the arm.

"You're not going alone," he reminded him.

"You gonna stop me?" Tony asked in a dangerous tone.

Steve narrowed his eyes. "Put on the suit; let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

"Put on the suit."

Bruce's voice stopped everyone in their tracks. "Oh my God!"

Everyone turned to look at him, and an explosion rocked the room.

* * *

_BOOM._

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review, please!_

_- Emmy_


	18. Mind Control

**Chapter Eighteen: Mind Control**

~ _recap _~

Steve narrowed his eyes. "Put on the suit; let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

"Put on the suit."

Bruce's voice stopped everyone in their tracks. "Oh my God!"

Everyone turned to look at him, and an explosion rocked the room.

* * *

~ _now, in the lab, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Andra was blasted into the wall, landing hard against it. Tony landed in the doorway, and Steve nearly crushed her. Her eyes opened again and she gaped at the giant hole in the floor. Captain looked at Tony in shock.

"Put on the suit," he told him, in a different tone than before.

"Yep!" he responded, then stopped, "Wait – Andra!" he called, then saw her.

She grabbed at the overturned table beside her and hoisted herself to her feet. Her eyes landed on him.

Fury's voice came from the other side of the room-turned-pit. "Agent Forsythe, report to the bridge, ASAP!"

"Copy!" she yelled back, then stook two steps forward, grabbing the front of Tony's shirt and pulling his lips to hers for a short but passionate kiss then pushing him towards Steve, "Go get 'em, babe," she winked.

Tony smiled as he turned around and ran down the hall, "Will do, Kitty Cat!"

Andra turned the other direction and ran towards the bridge. She skidded into the room and stopped in front of Phil, who was waiting for her.

"Believe it or not, we need you to sit at a computer for once," he told her.

She almost laughed at the irony, but held it in. "Gotcha," she nodded.

In less than a second, she was sitting before a computer, typing as fast as she possibly could and trying to get the damage reports they needed. Over the comm came Fury's voice.

"Hill?"

Agent Hill was leaning against a desk and started walking around, looking at screens and asking Agents about the damage. "Turn up that engine! Number Three engine is down," she told Fury, then walked up to the Agent that had been playing Galaga – his name was Agent Walar – and said, "Talk to me."

He started telling her the damage report, "Turbine's loose. Mostly intact, but it's impossible to get out there and make repairs while we're in the air."

Maria sighed. "We lose one more engine; we won't be. Somebody's got to get inside and patch that engine."

Fury's voice came again, "Stark, you copy that?"

"I'm on it!" he replied.

"Coulson!" Fury barked, "Initiate official lockdown in the Detention Section, then get to the Armory! Take Forsythe with you! Move out!"

Andra stood up, setting down the headphones she had on, and ran up the stairs to meet Phil. They ran out of the room as fast as they could. The two Agents rushed past everyone in their way as they ran towards the Detention Section. Phil looked at her as they ran.

"Come on, Armory's this way," he told her, turning a corner.

She stopped, shocked, then followed him, rushing to catch up, "Phil, we're supposed to lockdown the –"

"I think we'll need the gun more!" he shouted back.

After a second's thought, she realized that that was true. They finally reached the Armory – which was on the complete other side of the carrier than the bridge – and Phil started the recognition software. Suddenly, an inhuman roar shook the ship.

"The Hulk," Andra whispered. "He sounds pissed."

Coulson finally got in, and Andra started to walk in behind him, but he stopped her.

"I've got a bad feeling. Head down to the Detention Section, Andra," he told her, "I'll join you in a minute."

"Okay," she said, nodding, then ran back down the hallway.

Her feet pounded on the metal behind her. Another inhuman noise followed her footsteps and she picked up the pace. A seriously bad feeling was growing in the back of her mind. A feeling of _joy_. The door opened and she ran into the room surrounding Loki's cell – or, what _was _Loki's cell. She stopped, seeing Thor locked in it instead, and Loki standing to the side of her, at the controls. Andra started walking up the stairs towards him.

"Hello, my dear," he crooned, opening his arms as if asking for a hug.

"Don't 'hello' me," she snapped, "You've had this planned all along, haven't you?"

"Only a vague idea. Your team did their part better than I had expected," he told her, taking a step closer with his arms outstretched.

She simply glared at him and crossed her arms.

He pouted. "What, no sweet hug or tender kiss for your lover?"

"You're _not_ my lover," she growled at him.

He dropped his arms and chuckled. "Oh, I do believe you are mistaken, beloved."

"Beloved?" she mocked, smirking.

"Is there a more appropriate name I should call you instead? You have forbidden me to say your true name, as alluring as it is," he smiled again, in a more gentle way than usual.

"My name isn't alluring, it's –"

"Oh, but it is, _Andraste_," Loki purred, and an involuntary shiver ran down her spine.

"I hate you."

"We both know that is not true," he took a step closer to her, tilting her head up with his right hand, and captured her lips in a kiss.

Suddenly, she felt the cold feeling in the back of her head again, and her mind was catapulted onto a hard rock. Andra looked around and found she was again in the Astral Plain. Right in front of her was a large screen-like platform that showed what her body could see. Loki pulled away from her body's lips and looked in its eyes, straight at her.

"I _am_ sorry, my love," he whispered, and stepped away, pointing at a spot in the corner.

Andra watched through her body's eyes as it walked forward and stood in the corner, surveying the scene before it.

"Loki, what are you doing?" she yelled, beating on the screen.

_"I am only going what is best for us both," _his disembodied voice echoed around her.

"Like hell you are! Let me back in my body, _now_!" she ordered him.

_"I am sorry, I cannot. This is not how I imagined our first moments upon meeting with no physical barriers would go, I assure you."_

"Oh, if I were in my body, I would _so _kick your ass right now!"

~ _in the real world, Loki's Cell Room, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

Thor yelled in outrage and swung Mjolnir at the glass. It cracked, and a large shockwave shook the carrier. Loki stood for a moment, looking about, then smiled.

"The humans think us immortal," he stated, stepping towards the control panel, "Should we test that?"

The guard who was standing at the door fell with a loud _bang _on his face. Loki looked in that direction, and saw Agent Coulson standing there, holding a large weapon of some sort aimed at the God of Mischief.

"Move away, please," he demanded politely.

Loki stepped back from the controls, holding up his hands.

"You like this?" Phil asked, nodding at the gun, which began to power up, "We started working on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you wanna find out?"

* * *

~ _in the Astral Plain _~

Andra watched as the real Loki, standing behind Phil, stabbed him through the chest.

"_No_! _Phil_!" she screamed, sobs escaping her mouth as she pounded on the screen. "You _bastard_!"

_"I am sorry to hurt you, Andr –"_

"You're not sorry, you good-for-nothing, pushy, selfish asshole!"

Loki didn't respond. Andra didn't care, though. He'd killed one of her best friends; that was inexcusable!

* * *

~ _in the real world, Loki's Cell Room, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

"_No_!" Thor bellowed, pounding his fist on the glass.

Loki shoved Phil off of his scepter and walked towards the controls again, flipping open the safety glass around the release button. Thor looked at his brother with a pleading look. He hesitated for a second, then he pushed the button, sending the God of Thunder plummeting to the ground. He looked over the side, watching him fall.

"You're gonna lose," a weak voice came from the side of the room – _pit._

Loki turned to the source of the noise and saw that Coulson was still alive. "Am I?"

"It's in your nature," he added.

"Your heroes are scattered; your flying fortress falls from the sky. Where _is _my disadvantage?" Loki asked, stepping forward with his arms out.

"You lack conviction."

"I don't think I –"

Suddenly, Loki was blasted into the wall behind him, putting a hole in it. Phil had shot the gun. Andra flew through the screen and had control of her own body again.

"So _that's_ what it does," she heard Phil murmer.

"Phil!" she screamed, pain and loss lacing her voice.

Andra rushed to her best friend, taking the gun from him and setting it to the side. He looked at her with a sad expression.

"Sorry I couldn't see you beat this guy," he muttered, chuckling lightly.

"You're going to," she smiled at him as her eyes watered, then spoke into her earpiece, "We need a medic team in here!"

Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back into their chest. She felt the cold metal against her shoulder blades and knew instantly it was Loki. As she writhed and screamed, her efforts were more and more restricted. After a minute, she stopped struggling and just sobbed as she leaned back against him.

"Agent Forsythe –"

"Andra –"

"Kitty Cat –"

The three people who'd tried to contact her lost connection as Loki took the earpiece from her ear and crushed it in his hand before dropping it out of the open hole in the floor. Then he tried to walk her from the room, but she redoubled her efforts and managed to break free of him, but he grabbed her arm, holding her tightly.

"I had hoped I wouldn't have to do this," he muttered to himself, and pulled her around.

The cold metal tip of his scepter touched the top of her breast and she felt a cold burning spread throughout her body. Loki watched as her eyes turned black, then the all-too-familiar light blue. He let go of her arm, and she complied with his command to walk from the room. They followed the halls to the deck of the carrier, where a plane was waiting for them. Andra wanted to run into the bridge and help her fellow Agents, or find Tony and tell him what was happening, or shoot Loki's scepter, _for Christ's sake_! But it was like someone else was in control of her mind; someone who didn't give a rip about her and her opinions. They moved in her body without her permission, making her do things she'd _never_ do. She was led aboard the plane by Loki and walked over to close the bay doors, then sat down across from him. There were about five people on the plane in all; the pilot, copilot, a guard of some kind, Loki, and herself. Far less than she felt like there should be for an operation that infiltrated the Helicarrier and managed to get the God of Mischief out of his cage – which, by the way, she _really _wanted him back in right now.

They flew for a few minutes before he looked her in the eyes. She wanted to glare at him, to let him know she was _very_ unhappy with him, but her face stayed impassive.

"Tell me, my dear, are you pleased to see me in the flesh?" he asked, smirking.

"As pleased as any willing to serve their king would be," her mouth responded.

_What? No! _ She was not pleased, and definitely not willing to serve that self-centered jackass.

His smirk became a broad smile and he leaned forward on his knee. "Oh, this is _much_ better. What would you be willing to do for your king?"

"Anything."

_Oh, now you've done it, _she told her body. _Now that already-enormous ego of his is gonna be even bigger. _

"Anything?" his smirk returned and his eyes raked her body.

"Anything you wish for me to do, I shall do."

_Hmm… I don't think I like the way he's looking at me… _she thought, _It's like he thinks I'm a meal or something._

Loki leaned back and held his scepter in both hands. "I suppose we shall have to test that."

_Oh no. _

A few minutes later, the pilot announced that they were almost at their destination. Andra wondered where their_ destination_ was. It was probably Loki's base and the Tesseract would be there, meaning that she would have the ability to view what they were planning to do with it. That is, if she could break free of the mind control.

"Do not worry, Andraste. I think you shall be quite at home here," Loki commented.

"I would be at home anywhere you chose for me to be," her mouth told him.

_Right, _she mentally scoffed. _I wonder why he said that._

The plane landed and the bay doors opened. Loki walked up and held out his arm to her, which her body took. She stood and they walked out, only to find themselves on the helipad of a huge building. Andra recognized it immediately; Stark Tower. But why were they _here_? Then everything fell into place. '_A warm light for all mankind_,' he had said. He wasn't talking about the Tesseract, he was talking about the Arc Reactors that powered the Tower. They had the potential to power every city on the planet. And of course, Stark Tower would be an ideal place for the portal; it was extremely tall and in the middle of the city. She wanted to hit herself for not realizing it before.

They entered the building, and she noticed the abundance of guards around them. Probably there in case she tried to run off. Once they stood alone in the elevator, the God turned to her. His long fingers caressed her cheek and trailed down her jaw.

"You are quite lovely, my dear. A beauty like yourself is wasted on the Man of Iron. You belong by my side; you belong to me, and soon you shall acknowledge that," he murmured.

Her body turned to him. "I do belong to you, my King," it told him.

He looked taken aback for a moment before replying in a low voice, "Yes, you do."

_Sure I do, _she hissed. _I'll belong to you when hell freezes over._

The elevator stopped at the penthouse two floors later, and he led her out into Tony's apartment. It looked the same as the day she'd left it – granted, that was only a few days ago. Loki spun around and pulled her to his chest, placing his head close to her ear.

"Where shall I _take_ you first, my love?" he whispered in a seductive tone.

_What? Take me? Here? In Tony's apartment? Oh, hell no! _

Her body didn't respond to his statement, but her mouth said, "You may take me wherever you wish, my liege."

The look in his eyes changed and his face fell. Loki let go of her and walked over to the couches, collapsing on one of them. His scepter laid on the floor beside him. Her body sat down on the couch across from him and looked at him, never wavering in its gaze. Internally, she was confused and upset. He'd suggested that he would take her body in this place; _Tony's _place; the place her own boyfriend called home. That was just_ wrong_. But then when the body she was not it control of responded well to the statement, he'd seemed to lose all interest. That didn't seem like him. She thought he'd be ecstatic that she was so 'willing.'

The God looked at her sideways and sighed. "What would you do if I were to say that I wish to take you upon that seat?"

Her body smiled sweetly. "I would allow you to," it told him.

_Uh, no. I think not, _she mentally interjected. _I would tell you you're an idiot!_

He groaned. "I thought this would be more fun," he whined.

"What, my King?" her body asked, and for once, she agreed with its statement – 'my King' aside.

"You being connected to the Tesseract. I thought it would be fun to have you under my influence. But instead, you have become a mindless slave and _completely_ uninteresting," he complained.

"Would you like me to be interesting?" it asked, its expression becoming one of innocent confusion.

He thought for a moment, then beckoned her forward as he stood. Her body walked to him, and he grabbed his scepter, placing it against the top of her breast again. The cold feeling spread through her body yet again, but she felt the control on her mind release. Her eyes, which were staring into his own, turned black again before becoming the beautiful light spring green he was used to. He was so busy staring into them that he didn't see the hand coming until it slapped him in the face.

"You_ bastard!_" she yelled as she walked to the other side of the table.

He rubbed his jaw for a moment. "Not what I was hoping for," he muttered to himself, then turned to her, "Was that _necessary_, my dear?"

"Yes," she replied curtly as she crossed her arms.

Loki smiled. "That sounds more like you."

"That's because it _is _me, not some blithering _idiot _under your control," she snapped.

He turned his head to the side, giving her a skeptical look. "'Blithering idiot' is a bit strong of a term for it, I think. Perhaps 'enlightened friend' instead?"

"These people are not _friends_, Loki. Friends have their own opinions," she pointed out, "These are servants at best."

"They are not _servants_," he told her.

"Really, _my liege_?" she mocked, walking towards the couch again and flopping upon it, "Are you sure?"

He sighed and sat down again. "I suppose you have a point."

She snorted in a very unladylike way. "Of course I do. Don't I always?"

The God glared at her and she laughed. He realized that he hadn't heard her laugh very often, if he ever had at all. But now was not the time to tell jokes. The Man of Iron would be returning soon, and he had a_ very_ specific mission here. Not only would he use the Tower for the Tesseract, but he would show the Man of Iron where his place was. He stood and walked towards her. Andra stayed where she was, but not for long. Loki pulled her to her feet and into his chest, tilting her head to kiss her lips. They stayed like that for a while before he broke away for just a second.

"We are finally,_ truly_ together. No barrier shall separate us now, my love," he whispered against her lips.

His voice sent chills down her spine that weren't entirely unwelcome. The words he'd said were both arousing and rather romantic. Her body screamed for her to give in and let him take her, body and soul, but her mind was pressing the brakes to the floor. This was wrong; _so_ wrong. Loki taking her in Tony's apartment just did not sound appealing to her. Besides, it would be cheating on the man she loved – not that she hadn't done that_ before_, but that didn't count since it wasn't technically in real life. It was like dreaming about someone, which wasn't considered cheating, so why should that be? If he took her now, though, it would be very much real and certainly infidelity.

But he was so… well, _Loki._ He was dark, mischievous, silver-tongued, and altogether irresistible. That usually infuriated her. He was so damn attractive, but she loved another man and belonged to him. The idea of cheating didn't appeal to her, but he seemed to be the exception to everything she believed in. She'd been an Atheist before he came around, but now here he was, proving that indeed, there _were_ Gods. All her life, she'd believed herself to be impossible to sway, but he'd convinced her not to do several things she should have done. And he could pull her from her own mind without her permission. She was quite literally under his spell.

This man – this God – was someone she'd come to desire as much as she wanted the man she loved. The idea scared her and excited her at the same time. And so, when he asked for her again, she did not refuse. Loki leaned down and kissed her lips; gently at first, but then harder and more passionately. She returned every kiss – her body craved him more than she'd ever admit aloud. Her hands reached into his long black locks, curling a few around her fingers. His hands grasped her waist in a possessive gesture, pulling her against his chest. He pulled away and pressed his lips to her jaw, continuing to her neck. She gasped as he reached the sensitive spot on her neck. His mouth curled into a smile and he grazed his teeth over the spot before biting down lightly. A moan escaped her throat as she craned her head to the side, giving him more access. Her left hand entangled itself in his hair, while her right gripped his shoulder tightly. A hand roamed up and down her back, stopping up where her skin was exposed, the cold of it giving her goose bumps.

His mouth ravaged her neck before he pulled back and returned to her soft lips. Loki's hands slipped down to her hips, where they found the belt that held her gun and ammunition. Not removing his lips from hers, he undid her belt and the Velcro holding on her handgun. To her own surprise, she allowed him to remove both her weapons and lay them on the couch. Her own hands wandered over his chest, sliding up to his chest and removing his leather overcoat. Slowly, tenderly, she removed each of the metal pieces of his outfit, leaving him unprotected before her. She paused for a moment, not sure if she wanted to go further. His long fingers caressed her chin as he lifted it, looking deeply in her eyes.

"Why did you stop? Undress me, my dear," he encouraged her.

Still, she hesitated. "But… isn't that _demeaning_ for you?"

Loki chuckled. "Do not believe for a moment that this is demeaning for either of us. Do not regret this, just give in to the moment. Let me show you my desire."

He pulled her closer and kissed her softly. His hands ran down her sides, finding the hem of her tank top and pulling the garment over her head. The tips of his fingers ran over her stomach and onto her back, reaching behind her to unclip her bra. But he hesitated and instead brought them down to her thighs, bending down slightly and hoisting her up. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her into the bedroom on the side – Tony's bedroom. There Loki set her down on the bed and unclipped her bra, tossing it to the ground. Then he knelt before her, which was unexpected from the God who wanted them all to kneel. He gently removed her boots and tossed them to the side. The socks she was wearing underneath came with them, and he ran his hands over her feet for a moment, causing her to inhale sharply. He smiled.

"Does that tickle, darling?" he asked, amused.

She nodded in response and his smile broadened. He stood from his kneeling position and pulled her to her feet. His hands grasped hers and placed them on the zipper of his over shirt. Andra looked up at him questioningly and he lightly kissed her.

"Stop hesitating, love," he told her in a low, gravelly, seductive voice.

Her libido suddenly woke up and she began to remove his clothing at a very fast pace. He chuckled and mentioned that this was "more like it." When she had removed everything but the very last of his clothes, he stopped her and removed her bra first, trailing his hands over her exposed breasts, teasing her with his thumbs. Then his hands reached to her pants, undoing the zipper and pulling them down. He ordered her to step out of them and she did so. Then he stood, looking at her.

"What?" she asked, feeling slightly self-conscious.

He smiled at her lovingly. "I am simply marveling at your beauty. You are a _gorgeous _woman, Andraste."

She blushed and he stepped forward, tipping her head up to kiss her. The kiss became more passionate with each moment, until it was an all-consuming fire, both feeling nothing but each other. He stepped her slowly backwards before laying her on the bed, the soft fabric making her skin more sensitive. Then his lips left hers, travelling to her neck, making a stop to bite on her soft spot, down to her collarbone, and further to her breast. One of her nipples was taken into his mouth while his hand toyed with the other, rolling it gently between his fingers, making her moan. He trapped the other nipple between his teeth, causing her to gasp, and pulled on it lightly several times, which both hurt and made her very aroused. Once both breasts were pulsing, he kissed down her stomach… all the way down.

His hands stroked the inside of her thighs, spreading them farther apart, and her breathing sped up. Those long fingers of his trailed up into the apex of her thighs, and one or two fingers slipped between her folds. They circled her clitoris and continued down to her entrance, which was, by this time, _very _ready. A smile spread across his face as he spread the wetness up the entire length of her slit. When he reached the small mass of nerves that made her squirm, he stayed there and continued to circle it. Tingles shot up and down her body as she moaned for his touch. It continued to drive her insane, that constant circling that never ceased. The pleasure pooled in her lower stomach and she moved her hips into his hand, making him press harder. Her body tensed for a split second before the ball of sensation in her stomach exploded and her entire body lit on fire. The loud shout that came from her throat did little to relieve the tension coursing through her, but for the man pleasuring her, it did wonders.

Finally, she relaxed, falling limp upon the bed. He kissed her lower stomach again, right where the ball of energy had been. Her eyes opened and he leaned up to her, kissing her on the lips softly, but wantonly. Then he slowly slid himself inside her, staying still for a moment as he broke the kiss and looked in her soft green eyes. She kissed him passionately, and he could control it no longer. He began to thrust, pulling out and pushing in at a slow, gentle, pleasing rhythm. As their pleasure increased, as did the pace, until he was barely pulling out in between. Her hands raked at his back as she moaned his name. The ball of energy exploded again and violently rocked through her, just as he filled her. The hands that were raking his back became claws, tearing at his flesh. But to the God, it was not exceedingly painful, and he knew it to be a positive reaction. Eventually, he came to a stop, and simply stayed there, laying atop her for a moment. Then he pulled out and rolled to the side of her, sighing as he did so.

Loki laid, staring at the ceiling. The smirk on his face may never come off; he'd finally done it. He had finally physically taken the woman he wanted, regardless of her other lover. She was _his _now. He was not only confident that he'd outdone the Man of Iron in every respect, but he was proud of himself for paying the ultimate insult to his adversary. The act of taking his woman was enough, but Loki had taken his woman in _his _chambers; _his_ bed. He had invaded his space and his lover. Oh, _this_ would be enough to send him into a rage, the God was sure of that.

Andra leaned her head back and sighed. What was she doing? _Sleeping with the enemy, that's what. _Still, she didn't seem to regret it. It was a little late for regret anyway. She flipped over and laid on her stomach, looking at the man beside her. Her eyes scanned the geography of his face; the thin lines of his lips, his prominent cheekbones, the striking emerald green of his eyes. He was extraordinarily handsome, in all the ways she loved. It was as if he'd been specially tailored for her dreams. She was staring at his eyes when they looked into hers.

Loki rolled onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow and supporting his head with his hand. His other hand ran through her hair, stroking her head. She purred lightly at his gentle touch, eyes closing.

"What are you thinking, my love?" he asked softly.

Her eyes opened again and she met his. "Why do you call me so many pet names?"

He chuckled. "Is it not common for a man to call his lover by affectionate names here?"

"It is, but… you've called me 'my dear' since we first met on the Astral Plain. We weren't lovers then," she mentioned.

Loki smiled. She'd admitted to being his lover. Everything had worked out better than he'd imagined it could. Andra had finally accepted her place by his side as his.

In truth, she knew that they were lovers. It was impossible for two people who had slept with each other and flirted as much as they did to _not_ be lovers. Unfortunately, this meant she had a lover and a boyfriend; and they weren't the same person.

"No, we were not. But then, I wanted to make you trust me enough to tell me your true name," he admitted, "Afterwards, I quite honestly do not know."

A knock sounded loudly on the door. Loki groaned and his hand dropped to the bed.

"What is it?" he called, sounding very irritated.

"Sorry for the interruption, my liege," called the deep, gruff voice of a guard, "But we've received word that Iron Man is on his way here now."

Suddenly, the God smiled. "It appears, my dear, that we are expecting company."

* * *

_Oh, Tony's going to HATE this..._

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review, please!_

_- Emmy_


	19. Earth's Mightiest Heroes

_By the way, these are some of my longest chapters, and they stay this long until the epilogue._

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Earth's Mightiest Heroes**

~ _in the top floor of Stark Tower, Tony's bedroom _~

Loki kissed her sweetly on the lips before he got up. Andra stood also, picking up her clothing and slipping it back on. As the God leaned down to grab his over shirt, she saw the long gashes on his back. She gasped, walking over to him and turning him around so she could run her fingers over the marks.

"Oh, Loki…" she sighed, "I did this. I'm so sorry. My claws always come out, that's why he holds me back; I can't control it. It must have hurt. I'm so, so sorry; I should've warned you," she ranted, but he stopped her with a finger held to her lips.

"I am _fine_, my love," he chuckled, "It did not hurt and does not now. I am far more resilient than you think."

He removed his finger and kissed her swiftly before slipping the over shirt over his head. She huffed and picked up her bra, which he took from her. Gently, he slipped it over her arms and fastened the back. Then his hands slipped down to her hips and he pulled her against him, settling his head in the crook of her neck. His arms wrapped around her waist and she laid her hands atop his.

"Loki?" she broke the comfortable silence.

"Yes, dear?"

Andra paused for a moment, then asked the question that haunted her, "What's going to happen when the portal opens?"

The God sighed and pulled his arms back, turning her around and pulling on her hand to lead her out of the door. He led her back into the main room, where he let go of her hand and began picking up his armor using magic. She sighed, feeling that this was his roundabout way of telling her he didn't want to say anything. Her shirt still laid on the couch where they had left it, along with both her handgun and her dagger. She slipped her tank-top over her head, replaced her belt and pulled out her handgun. Then she opened the cartridge, finding the one already in the gun to be half-full. A check of all her weaponry revealed that she had two more cartridges of ammo, a compact smoke bomb that probably wouldn't do much good in an actual fight, a small grenade that might be able to take out a few enemies if she was in a pinch, and her dagger; which was in desperate need of sharpening. Andra sighed, knowing she wouldn't last long in this fight if she didn't get creative.

She pulled out the small stone she always kept with her to sharpen her dagger, and sat down on the couch. As she struck the stone on the flat side of the blade, she chuckled to herself. This weapon had been with her longer than she could remember. It was the first blade she'd ever handled, and she'd always worked best with it. Most of her kills were done with this dagger, and yet it was always ready for more… just like her. And they were about to take many more lives, just not _human_ ones this time. The image of Phil being stabbed flooded her mind. She remembered his last words to her.

_ "Sorry I couldn't see you beat this guy," he muttered, chuckling lightly._

A cold feeling of regretful anger filled her heart. The God of Mischief had killed her best friend, and she'd then gone and slept with him. That was the worst way to dishonor Phil's memory. She felt disgusted with herself, disgusted at the heartless person she'd become. This was wrong, it was all wrong. But it was too late to stop this now. The best she could do was cut him off. Her eyes looked up and saw Loki sitting on the other couch, elbows resting on his knees, watching her intently.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you believe you are going to need that?" he responded, cocking his head to one side.

She nodded slowly. "Yes."

"You won't," he told her, leaning back.

Her hands stopped the sharpening motion and she stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"You are not going to need your weapons, as you are not going to be engaging in battle."

"What do you mean, 'not going to be in battle?'" she snapped, "Of course I'm going to be!"

"No, you're not, Andraste. I will not see you harmed in the bloodshed to come."

She stood abruptly. "Harmed? You think I'm not harmed already?"

His expression changed to one of alarm. "You are?"

"You think I'm not?" she repeated.

"Where are you hurt?" he asked, standing up and walking towards her.

Andra glared at him and she placed a hand above her heart. He froze mid-step, looking at her with a face filled with confusion. She smiled sardonically.

"Now, why would I be hurt here?" she asked rhetorically, "Could it possibly be because _somebody_ killed my best friend?"

Loki sighed. "You know that I did not mean to hurt you. How could I have possibly known –"

"You said yourself that you have access to all my memories," she snapped, "He's a big part of my memories. He helped me readjust to society when S.H.I.E.L.D. took me in. He's the whole reason why I'm not a _monster _anymore!"

"Andraste, you were _never_ a monster," he told her, and she gave him a 'how-do-you-know' look, "Barton told me everything. How you loved a good challenge and killed because it was all you knew. That is not monstrosity; that is simple boredom. I understand, and I know from his account that you are not a monster."

"I was bored, so I killed people. I took _joy _in killing people, Loki. How was I _not _a monster?"

"Because I know very well what it is to be a monster," he confessed and his gaze found the floor, "I _am _a monster; the very monster parents tell their children about at night."

Her feelings disappeared for a moment. "What?" she breathed.

His eyes met hers. "The man I called my father had stolen me from the land of his enemies. I am… the son of their king," he explained.

She sucked in a breath of surprise. It was obvious that he wasn't happy about this, and that it was an extremely sore spot. Perhaps it would be best if she didn't press the subject. Instead, she simply walked up to him, placing her hand on one cheek and kissing the other softly. Just as she looked in his eyes, a small explosion rocked the top floor.

Loki sighed, but smiled. "I do believe that will be our guest. Stay here," he told her, kissing her quickly and picking up his scepter before walking out onto the balcony outside.

Andra shrugged and sat back down on the couch, crossing one leg over the other and playing a bit with her knife. She watched as Tony landed on the large round platform that she had jumped off of, mechanics coming around him and removing his battered Iron Man suit. Both Loki and he entered at the same time, Tony walking down the stairs nonchalantly.

His eyes landed on her. "Hey Honey, I'm home," he joked, winking at her.

She scoffed and said, "You're home from work early. Have a good day at the office?"

He shrugged as he walked towards the bar. "It could have been better. Some idiot decided to trash the place, though. In fact, that's the guy," he pointed at Loki as he walked into the room.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity," the God smiled.

Tony shook his head and stood behind the bar. "Uh, actually, I'm planning to threaten you."

"You should have left your armor on for that," he chuckled.

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. You've got the glow stick of destiny," he mentioned, and Andra stifled a laugh, "Would you like a drink?"

"Stalling me won't change anything," Loki told him.

"No, no, no,_ threatening_," Tony corrected. "No drink?" he asked again, then turned to Andra, "You want one, babe?"

She shook her head. "You know I don't."

"You sure?" he asked, and she nodded. "I'm having one."

"You might not want to," she said, getting up and walking towards him, "I mean, do you really want to fight drunk? Unless of course, _somebody_ calls off the alien army…" she trailed off, looking pointedly at the God.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that," Loki told her, then turned back to Tony. "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers," he responded automatically, and Loki gave him a confused look while Andra simply chuckled. "It's what we call ourselves. Sorta like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing," he explained.

"Yes, I've met them," Loki chuckled.

Andra reached the bar and leaned backwards on it, head facing Tony. "Last I checked, we weren't much of a _team_," she muttered, only loud enough for him to hear.

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction; I'll give you that one," he smiled at her, then looked up at the God, "But let's do a head count here. Your brother, the demi-god; a super solder; a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with _breathtaking_ anger management issues; a couple of master assassin's; a cat with really sharp claws, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

Loki looked at Andra for some sign of denial, but when none came, he simply said, "That was the plan."

"Not a great plan," Tony told him as he walked out from behind the bar, "When they come – and they will – they'll come for you."

"I have an army," Loki reminded them.

"We have a Hulk," he returned.

The God raised an eyebrow. "I thought the beast had wandered off."

"He's not a beast," Andra reprimanded him, following Tony.

"Oh, but he is."

"You're missing the point," Tony interjected, walking down the stairs, "There's no throne; no version of this where you come out on top."

_'Ah, but there is, isn't there, my dear?' _Loki asked in her mind.

Tony stopped. "Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it," he threatened.

Loki stepped towards him. "How will your friends have time for me… when they're so busy fighting you?"

The tip of his scepter powered up and hit the Arc Reactor with a _ping_. And then it powered down. His expression was positively comical. This time, Andra couldn't hold in her laugh, and giggled into her hand. Loki glared at her, then tried again. The scepter powered up, more determined than before... and powered down again. Her giggles became more violent.

"It should work," Loki complained.

Tony grimaced. "Well, performance issues. Not uncommon. One out of five –"

He was cut off as Loki took him by the neck and threw him to the ground, where he landed with a _thud_.

"Hey!" Andra shouted, her mirth forgotten.

"JARVIS, anytime now…" Tony muttered, getting to his feet.

Loki walked up and grabbed Tony by the neck again. "You will all _fall_ before me," he growled, and then threw Tony out the window.

"Deploy!" Tony yelled as he fell.

"Tony!" Andra screamed, then ran up to Loki, raising her right leg and kicking him across the face.

Loki stumbled and fell to the ground as a large red case flew out of the elevator, causing Andra to duck. She stood back up, smiling as she realized she'd just witnessed the Mark 7 go into action. Tony was going to be fine. Loki looked at her with a hurt expression.

"Must you keep hitting me?" he whined, holding his left jaw.

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Must you keep hurting people I care about?"

"If they get in my way, then yes," he said, as if it explained everything.

"Then yes, I'll keep hitting you."

He rolled his eyes and got to his feet, starting to walk towards her. Then Tony flew in front of the window and Loki spun around, his expression contorting into one of anger.

"And there was one more person you pissed off," Tony's now-slightly-metallic voice mentioned, "His name was Phil."

And with that, Iron Man raised his hand and shot Loki in the chest, knocking him backwards. A large boom echoed from above and Tony looked up.

"Right," she heard him mutter, "Army."

"Go!" she yelled, waving him off.

"Going," he said, before flying upwards and out of sight.

She ran outside onto the balcony, looking up at the portal. There were tons of Chitauri, and only one Tony. Then about ten of them exploded right before her eyes, and she gasped. That had been unexpected, but it definitely made her feel better. Her arm was pulled on suddenly, turning her towards someone, and she found the scepter's point against her chest.

"Loki, don't," she whispered, but it did no good.

A cold feeling spread all over her body and her eyes became bright blue again. Loki released her arm and stepped back.

"There is a squad coming. I want you to join them and fight off our enemies. You know their weaknesses; exploit them," he ordered her.

"Yes, my king," her body responded, and started walking towards the edge.

Loki called her name and her body stopped, turning towards him. "Wreak havoc, my dear," he told her, smiling manically.

Her head nodded, that old smile from before S.H.I.E.L.D. found her working its way back onto her face. Andra was scared now; he'd unlocked the old her without even knowing it. That was always how they'd done it – tell her to wreak havoc, and she'd do just that. Her body jumped off the balcony and landed in the back of a Chitauri speeder. One of the nearby gunman threw a long staff-like item at her, and she caught it. They flew down the streets of New York, and she shot storefronts, windows, and people. The part of her that was insane was enjoying every minute of this, while she tried not to.

Her squad turned a corner, and found themselves face to face with Iron Man. Her body simply shot at him, while her mind was screaming his name. The pilot turned them away from him; and she got the feeling that she was more important than the squad.

* * *

~ _in the plane from S.H.I.E.L.D. _~

Clint sat in the pilot's seat; Natasha in the copilot's. They spotted Loki battling Thor of the balcony of Stark Tower and tried to turn to shoot him, but he shot at the plane and hit them. Seconds later, they were going down in the middle of Manhattan. Barton tried to move them into a safer place to land, but no landing was going to be _safe_. They crashed the plane down in front of a building, making the people scatter. Thankfully, everyone was alright as the three rushed off the plane. They ran through the streets towards the Tower, and ended up stopping at an intersection as a primal roar echoed above them. Their heads looked up.

Emerging from the portal was a giant… _thing_. It had a turtle's head with the body of an armored eel, but it was the size of a whale – if that whale was from hell and ate elephants for breakfast. Chitauri soldiers jumped off of it and landed on the sides of buildings, sliding down and shooting the people below them.

Steve reached up and pressed the connection button on his com-link. "Stark, are you seeing this?"

"I'm seeing, still working on believing," Tony's voice came over the com, "Andra with you?"

"No."

"Shit," they all heard him whisper, "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?"

Tony sighed. "Just keep me posted. JARVIS, find me a soft spot."

~ _on the balcony of Stark Tower _~

Thor had Loki held in a headlock, looking out over the city.

"Look at this!" he told his brother, "Look around you. You think this madness will end with your rule?"

The God of Mischief tried to look away from the scene. "It's too late. It's too late to stop it."

Thor turned him around and looked in his face. "No, we can; together."

Loki looked up at him, faking hope, and then stabbed his brother in the gut. Thor fell to his knees, and he looked down at him.

"Sentiment," Loki spat with disgust.

Then Thor got up and kicked him, before holding him up and slamming him into the ground near the edge. The God of Mischief rolled off of it, landing in a speeder and flying away. With his scepter, he shot beams of energy at every mortal beneath him, making them scream and run. The squad he was flying with turned a corner and he shot down at the road, causing explosions behind him and just as he turned, a giant explosion rocked the surrounding area. Suddenly, Andra's small squad ran up beside him.

The smile on her face was something he'd never seen before. It was frighteningly ecstatic, as if this was her favorite activity in the world. He watched as she shot her weapon at the people below, never missing her mark. Of course, he shot as well, but her aim was perfect and his was not. He could not help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy. Was _everyone_ better than him?

Andra was slightly enjoying herself – and that scared her. While she wasn't controlling her body, she still felt the rush of adrenaline and the joyous feeling of killing her target. It was intoxicating, and even after all this time, she still had to fight not to give in to the feeling. Her body looked at Loki and winked, causing a huge smile to spread across his face. Her pilot flew higher, and she was about to have a good view of the Tower… and her speeder pilot's head exploded. She fell from the speeder, only to land in a pair of arms. Her body looked up to meet Loki's eyes.

"Thank you, my liege," her body said as he set her down.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't die," he told her, and gestured at another speeder, whose gunman disconnected and jumped to the building beside them.

She nodded and he pressed a quick kiss to her lips before she jumped down to the speeder. They reached a dead end and went separate ways, splitting the squad perfectly between them.

* * *

~ _on the intersection of Park and 23rd, with Clint, Steve, and Natasha_ ~

Clint shot a Chitauri, then tripped another and stabbed its throat with an arrow. Nat fought them off hand-to-hand, grabbing one of their rifles and beginning to bludgeon them with it. Steve threw his shield, hitting an alien before catching it again. The three fought the Chitauri off as best they could. Then a large lightning strike hit the Chitauri around them, causing them to fry and fall to the ground. Thor landed beside them with ease.

"What's the story upstairs?" Cap asked, as they formed into a group.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor explained.

Tony's voice came through the com-links. "Thor's right. We gotta deal with these guys."

"How do we do this?" Nat asked.

"As a team," Steve told her.

Thor looked at them. "I have unfinished business with Loki."

Clint tightened one of his arrows and stepped forward. "Yeah, get in line."

"Save it," Captain America told him, "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us –"

Bruce rode up on a motorcycle and parked it. He got off and walked towards them, looking at the damage.

"So… this all seems horrible," he said.

"I've seen worse," Nat mentioned.

"Sorry."

She shook her head. "No, we could use a little _worse_."

"Stark?" Cap asked over the com-link, "We got him."

"Banner?"

He nodded. "Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you," he told them.

Just then, Iron Man came around a building… and so did the giant whale following him.

Nat blinked a few times. "I… I don't see how that's a party."

Tony kept coming towards them, flying lower to the ground, the_ thing_ still tailing him closely.

"Doctor Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry," Steve suggested.

"That's my secret, Captain," he smiled, "I'm _always_ angry."

He turned around, becoming the Hulk as he did so. The Hulk raised his fist and hit the Chitauri whale in the face, causing it to lift up. It looked like it was going to land on the Avengers behind it, but Tony raised his arm and shot explosives at its belly. They hit and the thing exploded into a million tiny Chitauri pieces. There were bits of whale everywhere, some of them even flaming. The sight around them was rather disgusting. The nearby Chituari soldiers screamed in anger at the sight of their lost ally. Tony landed with the rest of them as the portal to Hell opened wider and more enemies flew through. They all stared at it.

"Guys…" Black Widow trailed off.

"Call it, Cap," Tony's metallic voice said.

"Alright, listen up," Steve told them, "Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof," he ordered, pointing at a nearby building, "Eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything that gets more than three blocks out; you turn it back or you turn it to _ash_."

Tony nodded and turn to Clint, who asked, "Wanna give me a lift?"

"Right," Tony said, "Better clench up, Legolas."

Iron Man shot off into the sky, holding Hawkeye under the shoulders.

Andra watched as she flew by. Yes, they were officially a team now… it sort of hurt that the Avengers got started without her. She was supposed to be one of them and yet she was left out when the team actually got together. Ah, well. Eventually, she'd be a member of that team.

Steve turned to the God, "Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning; light the bastards up."

Thor nodded and flew off towards the Empire State building.

Steve addressed Natasha. "You and me; we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk," he turned to the big green guy, "_Smash_."

A wide grin spread on the Hulk's face, then he leapt at a building and began to quite literally smash the enemy. The two on the ground began to fight all of the Chitauri around them.

Andra and her squad flew down the streets, shooting all the people and places they could see. As they flew down one street, they caught the Hawk's eye. He loaded three arrows and hit three of her speeders.

"Hey Nat? We need cognitive recalibration on 23rd," Clint said over the com-links as he shot more pilots.

Nat stopped fighting the Chitauri she was sitting on the shoulders of for a second. "Andra?"

"Yep. She's comin' your way, get ready."

Nat snapped the neck of her enemy and hopped down on her feet. Cap caught his shield and turned to her. She motioned for him to get back and told him to hit Andra's speeder so she'd fall. He threw it perfectly as her squad went by, and it knocked her pilot so badly that it lost control of the speeder and she fell off. She landed on her feet facing him with one hand to the ground, then stood tall and glared him down. Just as she began to walk towards him menacingly, she was hit over the head with the blunt end of a Chitauri rifle. She fell to the ground and laid there, passed out.

Captain looked at her worriedly. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"Probably. Hopefully. It worked on Barton, didn't it?" Nat justified.

Just then, another wave of Chitauri started surrounding them.

"Yeah… but you might have hit her a bit hard," he told the assassin, throwing his shield at some enemies behind her.

"It's gotta be hard, Captain!" she explained as she shot another alien with its own technology.

"Let's just hope it works!" he yelled back, and they fully immersed themselves in the fight.

* * *

~ _on the rooftop _~

Clint shot enemies left and right. His ears caught something and he shot an arrow behind him, hitting an enemy speeder and making it explode. His eyes found Tony… and everything following him.

"Stark, you've got a lot of strays on your tail," he warned him.

"Just trying to keep 'em off the streets," he quipped in return.

"Well," Clint sighed as he shot another Chitauri, "They can't bank worth a damn; find a tight corner."

""Roger that."

Iron Man started flying towards every single tight corner he could find.

"So, any word on Andra?" he asked.

"We've got her here," Steve's voice said over the com-link.

"She okay?"

"Well, we don't know yet. She's out."

Tony lost all of the Chitauri on his tail. "Right," he muttered then said to Clint, "Nice call. What else you got?"

"Well," he looked around, "Thor's taking on a squadron down on 6th," he suggested.

"And he didn't invite me," Tony scoffed.

* * *

~ _on the intersection of Park and 23rd, with Steve, Natasha, and now Andra _~

Andra opened her eyes. Wait… _she _opened her eyes! Nobody else was in control of her body anymore! Finally, she could join the right side! Her moment of elation was cut short by a sharp pain. She sat up, moaning and rubbing the back of her head. Her eyes shot open and she saw Steve and Natasha fighting off Chitauri left and right. Instantly, she got to her feet and pulled her gun from her side, shooting the alien that was about to get the Captain. She winced at the residual ringing in her ears.

He turned around in surprise and saw her standing there. "Thanks," he yelled at her.

"No problem," she replied, before replacing her gun, pulling her dagger from its sheath and joining the fight – on the right side this time.

Andra turned around and stabbed the nearest Chitauri in the chest. Her dagger barely entered its armor and it screamed at her. Eyes wide, she stole its gun and shot it in the face. That was a problem; she couldn't use her dagger at all. It didn't do any good. It became apparent that she was out of her element here. She swung the gun around, hitting two Chitauri in the head. Her arm pulled back and she stabbed another with it. The fighting continued this way for quite some time.

Natasha was hit and knocked down, but managed to get back on her feet. Andra's head was pounding and nearly fit to burst. There was a quick break in waves, and Andra and Natasha slumped over slightly.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal," Nat mentioned.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it," he told her, frowning.

Andra shook her head. "Not with the energy shield. But it's _gotta_ have a weakness. Nothing's impenetrable."

Nat looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Maybe it's not about guns."

Andra looked up at the speeders flying by, then back at her friend. "Don't tell me you're thinking what I'm thinking."

"You want up there; you're gonna need a ride," Steve mentioned.

"I've got a ride," Nat smiled. "Could use a lift, though."

Cap knelt down with his shield before him, looking skeptical as she backed up.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked her.

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

Natasha started running and jumped, bouncing off his shield to grab a speeder going by. They watched her fly off worriedly.

"I hope she knows what she's doing," he muttered.

Andra placed a hand on his arm. "Have faith, Captain. If anyone could do this; it'd be Nat."

"You're right," he said as another wave started rushing towards them, "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied with a smirk, and the fighting began anew.

Andra shot several Chitauri, then stabbed one behind Steve as he threw his shield at some of the aliens behind them. They stood back to back, shooting and throwing for a few minutes. Iron Man shot a couple and landed beside the two. Cap held up his shield and Tony reflected his beam off of it, allowing them to cut down quite a few at once. Andra hit a Chitauri that got too close in the face, knocking it down, then slammed the sharp end of the rifle she was holding into its chest. She spun around on the rifle, kicking two more. Then she pulled the rifle from the first one and shot them both. A fourth came up and she engaged in staff combat with it. It got the better of her and pushed her down. The Chitauri raised its rifle to shoot her, but she rolled to the side. Her leg came up and kicked it in the knee, making it fall. She got up and slammed her boot down on its head, at least knocking it out. Then another attacked her. It seemed as if they'd never end.

"Captain, the bank on 42nd, past Madison. They've got a lot of civilians there," Hawkeye's voice came into Steve's ear.

"Got it," he replied, then turned to Andra.

"Go, Captain!" she yelled as she killed another Chitauri, "I'll be fine!"

He nodded and ran off, leaving her to fend for herself. She dispatched another three Chitauri, but found herself surrounded by five of them. She cursed very loudly, and two of them were shot with energy beams. Tony landed beside her and grabbed one Chitauri, shooting it in the face.

"Don't mess with my girlfriend," he told it as it fell.

She whacked one across the face with the blade and beheaded another one the same way. Then someone turned her around. It was Tony, and he handed her a small black object that she recognized immeadiately as a com-link.

"Thanks," she breathed as she put it in, "Hey there, can you hear me?"

"Andra?" Clint responded.

"Yup, it's me," she replied as she began fighting other aliens.

"Good to have you back – Nat, what are you doing?" he exclaimed, and Andra smiled.

"Uh, a little help?" Nat's voice came a bit strained.

She flew over Andra's head and she saw that Loki was pursuing her. She continued to fight, but reached out to him mentally.

_Hey, remember what I said about not hurting my friends?_

_ 'She's trying to get to the Tesseract. I cannot allow that to happen,' _he explained. _'Besides, I thought you were a mindless slave."_

_ Yeah, well, somebody hit me over the head and that seemed to help. _

Andra kicked another Chitauri and continued to fight, though now she could hear the other's struggles in her ear. Suddenly, there was an explosion – Loki's speeder. It was obvious to her that it had to be him. For a few more minutes, she fought, then heard running of a different sort and a shield hit the Chitauri beside her. She turned and saluted the Captain in thanks. They continued the fighting, and Thor landed beside them, swinging his hammer left and right. She beheaded a couple of aliens, and shot the one behind Thor, who gave her a nod of gratitude. The three formed a triangle and fought as valiantly as they could, helping each other every now and then.

One got a bit close to her and hit her in the head, making her fall backwards onto the pavement. Captain America's shield hit the ones getting too close as she got back to her feet. An energy blast hit Steve as he caught his shield, making him go down. Andra ran over to help him, but Thor, who had killed a few Chitauri using a car, beat her to it. He helped him back to his feet and they stood looking at each other. Andra stumbled a little as she took a step forward, but with the help of Thor's hand on her shoulder, she regained her balance.

"Are you ready for another bout?" Thor asked them.

Andra simply nodded, while Steve chuckled and said, "What, you getting sleepy?"

They were about to run at the nearest group of enemies when they heard Nat's voice over the com-links.

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"

"Do it!" Steve shouted.

"No, wait!" Tony's voice yelled.

"What is it?" Andra asked.

"Stark, these things are still coming!" Steve said as he threw his shield at another one.

"I've got a nuke coming in; it's gonna blow in less than a minute," Tony explained, and Andra gasped, "And I know _just_ where to put it."

"Tony, no!" Andra choked on her words.

They ran forward towards Stark Tower and they watched as Iron Man, with a nuke attached to his back, flew into the portal.

"Stark, you know that's a one-way trip?" Steve asked quietly.

There was no response.

* * *

_Wait, Tony... COME BACK!_

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review Please!_

_- Emmy_


	20. One-Way Trip

**Chapter Twenty: One-Way Trip**

~ _inside the Iron Man suit _~

Tony flew into the portal. It scared him half-to-death when Cap had said it was a one-way trip, but he knew it was true. He probably wouldn't return.

"Save the rest for return, J," he told JARVIS.

He flew for a few more seconds, the portal getting nearer every second.

"Sir," JARVIS asked quietly, "Shall I try Miss Forsythe?"

"Might as well," he agreed, and Andra's icon showed up on his display.

* * *

~ _in the top floor of Stark Tower _~

A slight buzz echoed on the table. The song 'Shoot to Thrill' by AC/DC started playing as it buzzed. Loki looked over at it from his place in the crater the Hulk had made for him – it was Andra's cell phone ringing. And she wasn't there to pick it up.

* * *

~ _back in the Iron Man suit _~

He flew through the portal and everything vanished. His controls, everything except his vision. He could see quite perfectly… and what he saw scared him. It was a huge armada, with a giant mothership right smack-dab in the middle. It was worse than he thought. There were so many of them. Far too many for this nuke to kill unless he hit it right where it needed to go.

He aimed the nuke and let go, allowing himself to fall.

* * *

~ _on Park Street, Manhattan, in front of Stark Tower _~

"Come on, Stark," Nat's voice said over the com-links.

A few more minutes passed with them all looking up. Steve turned to Thor, who nodded.

"Close the portal," Steve commanded.

"What?" Andra shrieked, "No, you can't! Tony's still inside, we've got to wait for him –"

"Just do it."

The portal's energy source was cut off and the portal began to close. Andra watched in horror as it closed completely. She turned to Steve in outraged grief.

"How could you? You just let him die, we could've saved him –"

"Son of a gun. Andra, look," Steve told her as he turned her around.

She squinted through her tears and saw… Tony! He was falling, but he'd made it from the portal. But… he was falling. No thrusters; no energy beams; nothing.

"Tony…" she whispered.

Thor stepped forward. "He's not slowing down," he noted as he began to swing Mjolnir.

Suddenly, the Hulk leapt from a nearby building and caught him. They slammed into a building and slid down it, the Hulk landing on the ground with Tony on top of him. He looked down and quickly cast him to the side. They all rushed to his side, Thor ripping off the Iron Man mask and throwing it aside. Andra rushed up, seeing Tony. He looked to be… dead. His eye were closed, he wasn't moving and the Arc Reactor that was always alight was black.

Her lie to him about the supposed nightmare came back to her in a flash. She'd said she'd seen him dead, but she'd never actually thought she'd… no. This couldn't be happening. He _couldn't_ be dead. He'd promised her that he wouldn't go anywhere. It wasn't possible!

She backed away in horror, her hand over her mouth, eyes wide in shock and filling with tears. Thor's hands came to rest on her shoulders and he kept her still. But he couldn't keep her standing. She fell to her knees, tears falling from her eyes. Tony was… _dead. _The man she loved was dead. All her memories of them came back to her in a flash.

* * *

~ _at the Elaine Houck Charity Ball, Miami, Florida, approximately four years, three months ago _~

Andra walked into the room, catching the attention of several men as she did so. It didn't faze her, though. She was used to people staring at her. Granted, she'd set herself up for it tonight. Her long, black dress was sleeveless, form-fitting and low-cut, revealing more than it should, and the long slit up to her thigh didn't help. Her heels clicked as she walked, giving her quite a noisy entrance. Her bracelets jingled and jangled as her hands bounced with every step. Needless to say, she was quite a sight to behold. She had hidden her ears – quite uncomfortably – under a black, sequined head band, and her tail was wrapped around the leg they couldn't see. The woman looked positively normal.

She walked up to the bar and ordered a virgin mudslide, sitting down for a moment on one of the stools. Unfortunately, she hadn't sighted either of her targets yet, but she knew she'd have a little bit to find them. A presence beside her made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, but not in the way that was alarming… rather, in a good way.

"Hey, there," said a baritone voice, slightly slurred – the guy had most likely consumed a bit of alcohol.

She turned to look at him and found herself staring into a pair of beautiful deep brown eyes. Her eyes travelled over his face, from his eyes up into his unkempt hair, down his cheekbone and jaw, across his stubble, goatee and slight moustache, around his lips, beside his nose and back into his eyes. He was strikingly handsome in a scruffy sort of way.

"Hello," she responded, smiling at him.

"My name's Tony Stark," he smirked, holding his hand out for her to shake, which she did, "What's yours?"

"Diana Marren," she replied, giving him a fake alias, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Stark."

"Please, call me Tony," he told her as he ordered another drink – a scotch on the rocks, like the last.

"Tony, then."

"So what brings you to Miami?" he inquired.

She quickly thought up a lie as she grabbed her drink from the bartender. "I'm actually here to get some relaxation time. I've been working for_ far _too long with no breaks," she told him – it wasn't entirely untrue, "What about you?"

"I live here. Well, just outta town," he corrected himself, "Got invited to this thing and figured I'd have to show. Why are you here? What's a relaxation-seeking, beautiful woman like yourself doing at a charity ball?"

"Ah, good question. I'm actually here looking for my friend, but I haven't found him yet," she confessed.

Tony set down his drink. "Well, while you're not finding him, would you care to dance?"

"Hmm, dancing's not my strong point," she lied – she actually thought dancing was great fun.

"Oh, come on," he urged, grabbing her hand, "What's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

~ _in Tony's Garage, approximately four years, one month ago _~

Her bare feet made no sound as she walked down the steps. Only the soft _whoosh _of her tail swinging gave any indication she was there. The tips of her fingers lightly touched the icons as she entered the key code to get in the door. It opened and she was met with loud, blasting music – _Desire _by Ozzy Osbourne. A smile spread across her face as she walked over to the large car with its hood up. He would be under a car engine, wouldn't he? She sat down on the floor beside his legs and ran her hand down one of his calves. The man jolted and slid out from underneath the machine. His eyes were met with the sight of his girlfriend wearing his button-up shirt from yesterday's exposition and her underwear… and nothing else. He smiled broadly.

"Hi, Tony," she purred, her eyes glinting.

"Hey, Kitty Cat," he responded, pushing himself up to a sitting position.

She leaned forward and gave him a kiss. "You were gone when I woke up; I missed you."

"Sorry, babe," he said, getting to his feet and walking to a nearby table to rub his hands with a towel, "But I needed to work out some stress. The prototype for the Jericho's still got a lot of kinks in it."

Tony sat down in the chair behind him and sighed. Her shoulders slumped and she got to her feet. She walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing his cheek.

"I thought we worked all the kinks out yesterday."

He nodded slowly. "That's what I thought too, but they called this morning and said it 'didn't work.'"

"What do they mean, 'didn't work?'" she exclaimed.

"Well, apparently the back thrusters on the rockets didn't fire correctly and the nav system is a bit off."

Andra scoffed and pulled back, resting her hands on his shoulders. "I have calibrated and recalibrated that navigation system a thousand times; it is _not _off."

"Yeah, well, the science people say it is and Obadiah won't let me show it to the NSB unless it's 100 percent effective," he explained.

"_Obadiah_ should stick to the publicity side of the industry and let you do your own thing."

Tony chuckled, "Try telling him that. He's been this way since Dad died, good luck trying to change him now."

"I know, I know. Still, you'd think that he'd know by now that you know better than they do whether Jericho works or not. The science people didn't build the goddamn thing; you did."

"Actually, babe, _you _did," he corrected, turning around and pointing at her.

"No," she protested, "I didn't build it."

"Uh, you kinda did. Jericho is yours; you made this thing from a rough sketch I did during a meeting."

Her eyes rolled. "With your help. I couldn't have built it without you. You and I _both _made Jericho; admit it. We work best together anyway."

"Nope," Tony shook his head, "Jericho is your baby."

She rubbed her hands on his shoulders and laced them together behind his neck. Her forehead rested against his and she pecked his lips softly.

"_Our _baby," she whispered, then pulled away completely, "Now, I've gotta go home and get into a fresh set of clothes. Maybe I should start bringing an overnight bag when I come here," she winked as she walked away towards the door, tail swinging back and forth slowly.

"Why don't you bring all your bags?"

Andra wheeled around, ears perking up, and looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"Why don't you just bring all your stuff over? I mean, what with you spending your nights here for the past month," he said, getting up and walking around the tables, "Wouldn't it just be easier if you, you know, had your stuff here?"

"Are… are you asking me to move in?" she asked in surprise, taking a couple steps towards him.

He shrugged. "You don't have to if you don't want to, I just wondered if maybe -"

She had taken those last steps towards him and she pressed her lips to his in a passionate kiss, cutting him off. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his wrapped around her waist. After a few minutes, she pulled away for air.

"I take it that's a yes?" he asked hopefully.

She nodded and smiled at him. "I'd love to."

* * *

~ _on the Airfield, approximately three years, nine months ago _~

Andra sat in the car as it drove into the airfield. Her training allowed her to keep a straight face, but really, she was worried as all hell. Rhodey had done her a favor and told her that Tony was alright and coming home, but he'd never mentioned whether or not he was injured – which, at least in her line of work, meant that he was. The driver parked the car and she got out, closing the door behind her with a _bang _as she watched the plane land. The minute the bay doors started to open, she kicked off her heels and ran full-speed over to it, tail keeping her balanced. Tony was just coming down the ramp with Rhodey, and they were arguing about something or another, she didn't care. What she cared about was the hurt arm, split lip and bruised cheekbone he was sporting. She stayed right where she was as he walked towards her, analyzing every little thing he did to find out how badly he was hurt. It appeared she was wrong about the arm – it wasn't his arm that was hurt. He had broken a couple of ribs.

When he reached her, she threw her arms around his neck – carefully, though, so as not to hurt him.

"Hey, Kitty Cat," he said as she pulled away.

She placed her hand on the side of his face. "You jackass," she breathed.

"What did I do?"

"You made me worry about you," she told him, and he laughed lightly, "It's not funny! Next time you decide to go show off a new weapon, you're taking me with you."

"Uh, about that… can we go to the car now?" he asked, pointing at it.

She blinked. "Okay…"

They got in the car and she turned to him to find him wincing as he sat down.

"Tony, we really ought to get you to a hospital –"

"I don't think so. I'll be fine," he told her, and she gave him an unconvinced look.

"At least let me see to your wounds."

"Babe, I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I wanna do. One, I want an American cheeseburger, and the other –"

"I'd love to, but not until you're healed," she cut him off.

He gave her a sideways glance and smirked. "We'll see, but that's not what I was thinking. Do you have my phone?"

"Uh… yeah, why?" Andra asked, pulling it out of the right back pocket of her jeans and handing it to him.

He unlocked it rapidly and held it up. "JARVIS, I want you to schedule me a press conference."

"For what date, sir?" the automated British voice asked.

"Today."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, buddy," he said, and set the phone down.

Andra gave him a confused expression. "Why do you want a press conference? You avoid those things like the plague."

"Hogan, drive," he told the driver, and they took off, "Cheeseburger first."

"Seriously, Tony, answer me. Why do you want a press conference? Do you really want them to see you like this?"

"It's not a big deal, babe. What I have to say _is_," he answered.

She leaned back. "What do you have to say?"

"I've actually got two things; one of which you'll have to wait for the press conference to hear, and the other is that… I missed you," he confessed, looking in her eyes.

Andra smiled. "I missed you too, more than you could know."

"Come here," he told her and she leaned up against him.

He planted a kiss on top of her head between her ears and she sighed.

"Don't you _dare _do that to me again, okay?" she said, wrapping her tail around his leg.

He blew a breath and her ears fluttered. "Not planning on it."

She turned around and knelt on the seat, facing him. "Tony, can I ask you something?"

"Do you need permission to ask?"

"No, not really," she agreed, chuckling, "But… I want to ask; is this gonna change anything?"

"What?"

Her finger rested lightly on the glowing blue disc in his chest. "This."

"Babe, this thing in my chest isn't going to change anything for us. If anything, it'll make life better – I've got some plans for a new toy," he said, winking, then turned serious again, "But no, it's not going to change anything. Did you think it would?"

"I didn't know if this was going to make you a new man, or if it wasn't going to last forever, or what, but… all I know is; I don't want to lose you again," she admitted.

He took her head in his hands. "You're not going to lose me."

"Good, because… Tony… I love you."

* * *

~ _in Tony and Andra's bedroom, approximately three years, seven months ago _~

Andra looked over at Tony's sleeping form in their bed. He was so peaceful while he slept… it was one of the many things she loved about him. Her eyes drifted over to the clock on the wall; it read 2:30 AM. She let her head fall back on the pillows, wishing she could just go back to sleep – but she couldn't. The cell phone in her hand told her otherwise. Slowly, she peeled back the covers and got out of bed, careful not to wake him.

She walked over to their shared walk-in closet, walking all the way to the back of it and pulling out the black bag she wished she didn't have to even think about. Still, she unzipped the top and reached inside, emerging with the skin-tight clothing. As she pulled it over her head, she felt the familiar feeling wash over her that always came with this particular outfit; a sense of duty. There was no other choice, she had to do this. No matter what her heart was feeling, her job came first… it had to. Out of the black bag came the rest of her ensemble, weapons included. Then when she'd gathered everything, she left the closet.

Tony was still sleeping when she looked back at him. Her heart clenched as she thought about what she was doing. It was always the leaving that was difficult, but it had never been quite as difficult as this. Before, she had always been leaving somewhere, something… never some_one_. She loved him. More than she should have. He was her everything now; she'd waited three months for this man, helped with the effort to find him, even kept his company afloat by creating the weapons she could. How could she leave him _now_?

Her phone buzzed again and she looked down at its screen.

'Hey, Koshka… we're waiting…' flashed on the front – Natasha and Clint were out front waiting for her. She had to go.

She started to walk out the door, but turned and looked at the man she loved for a second more. Oh, how she wished she could tell him where she was going, why she was going… _that _she was going. She wanted to hold him close and tell him she'd return for him, that she'd come home as soon as they allowed her to. But she couldn't. For a split second, she thought about going over there and kissing him on top of the head as a last farewell, but dismissed the thought. If he woke up, he'd beg her to stay… and she couldn't, not when they needed her. It was her duty to her friends and to her employers. It was her duty to S.H.I.E.L.D.

* * *

~ _on Park street, Manhattan, in front of Stark Tower, in the present _~

Andra looked down at him, her beloved Tony. She couldn't believe he was gone. It just tore her apart to think that they'd been parted – again – with no goodbye. Except this time, it was_ him_ leaving _her_ behind. She vaguely registered Steve saying something about getting her out of there and Thor walking towards her when the Hulk roared to the heavens. Suddenly, someone gasped.

"What the hell? What just happened?" Andra heard a familiar voice ask – a familiar voice that was supposed to be dead.

She looked up and saw Tony with his eyes open, looking shocked, but alive. Relief flooded through her as she smiled through her tears.

"Please tell me nobody kissed me," he mentioned, in a rather disgusted voice.

Her smile became wider and she shot forward, grabbing Tony's face and kissing him like she'd never kiss him again – which, a few seconds ago, had been a very real possibility. One of his hands found its way to the back of her head and he held her to his lips for a second before he let her pull away. She knelt beside him and put one hand on his brightly glowing Arc Reactor while keeping the other on his cheek.

"You jackass," she said, smiling.

His eyes shone as he responded the same as he had before, "What did I do?"

"You made me worry about you," they both chuckled as she repeated the past, "It's not funny. I thought I'd lost you. Next time you want to go throwing nukes into an alien portal, you're taking me with you."

Tony laughed a little, then said, "I have no plans on doing _that _again."

"Good."

"So what happened?" he asked, looking at everyone now.

"We won," Steve explained.

"Alright, hey, alright. Good job guys," Tony breathed in relief, "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day," he suggested, and everyone nodded. "Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

"You don't know what it is, but you wanna try it? You sure?" Andra asked skeptically, but when he nodded, she said, "Alright, I suppose we'll try it."

"We're not finished yet," Thor reminded them, looking at the Tower.

Everyone paused for a minute, looking at it, then Tony sighed. "Shawarma after."

Andra chuckled as she and Steve helped him to his feet. She looped an arm around him in an attempt to help him walk, but he insisted he could do it himself, so she let him go. The troupe had just started walking over to the building when a voice echoed behind them.

"Hey!" it shouted, and she recognized it as Clint, "You gonna wait for me?"

She turned around and beckoned with an arm while the others kept walking slowly. He started running and caught up with them in a few seconds. Clint walked beside her as they neared the Tower. Thor swung his hammer and flew up to the balcony, so they could be sure Loki was there when they got up there.

"You alright?" she asked Clint, noticing the large bruise on his arm.

"Yeah," he shrugged it off, "I'm fine. Just landed on it wrong."

She scoffed and pushed his back lightly, making him stumble a little. "You're always so blasé. Mister Mysterious Man," she teased.

He turned and walked backwards, opening his arms wide. "What can I say? I'm the Hawk."

"Yes, yes you are," she laughed as they entered the building.

The troupe walked into an elevator and Andra leaned on the wall with Clint beside her. Tony and Captain stood across from them. The exhaustion in the air was nearly tangible. Barton sighed and leaned his head on the wall, looking up at the ceiling.

"Please tell me I get to put an arrow in him when we get up there," he breathed.

She laughed a little. "No, sorry. You know they're gonna torture him anyway, right?" she asked, looking at him sideways.

Steve gave her a worried look. "You don't mean that literally," he tried to tell her.

Andra stood up fully and shrugged. "Think about what he's done. There's a very good chance that S.H.I.E.L.D. _will_ torture him to get information about the Tesseract."

"That's wrong," Cap said, "Don't torture him. They can lock him up all they want, but torturing him's too much."

"Well, if he doesn't cooperate when they ask questions, they're gonna do it anyway," Clint told him, "That's just the way interrogations work."

Fury's voice in their com-links interrupted their conversation. "Avengers, report."

"We won, sir. The portal's been closed and the Chitauri appear to be down for the count," Steve informed him.

"Good work," he praised them, and Andra shared an amused look with Clint – Fury never gave compliments.

They reached the top floor and walked out to find, Thor, the Hulk and Nat already there. Hawkeye straightened up and walked straight over to Loki, who was lying in a small crater in the floor, and immediately pulled out an arrow and pointed it at his face. Andra walked down the stairs with the others as Loki pulled himself out of the crater. She walked over and stood beside Natasha as he turned around. His eyes darted around, looking at each of them.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink," Loki said quietly.

Tony chuckled. "Oh, so now you want it."

"Might as well give it to him," Andra added, "The guy's screwed anyway, he's gonna need it."

"Alright," he laughed as he walked back to the bar.

Loki looked between Andra and Clint. "Could you not?" he asked Hawkeye, pointing at the bow.

"Leave him, Clint," Natasha advised, "He's not worth the arrow."

Barton scoffed. "You've got a point," he agreed as he stood up and stowed it again.

Tony came over with a glass of something clear, which Loki took and downed in one gulp. He handed the glass back to Tony and scowled as he got up.

"Too weak," he complained as he stood at his full height.

As he took the glass, Tony laughed. "I agree."

The Hulk walked away, assumedly to change back into Bruce. Natasha and Clint walked away, dragging Andra with them. The three walked over into a corner of the room, while they could hear Thor and Loki speaking in the background.

"There's torture in store for him," Nat stated, and the other two nodded.

"We discussed that on the way up here. Cap's against the idea," Andra mentioned.

Clint looked at the super soldier across the room. "Not like he's got much say."

"Nobody does," Natasha agreed, "Fury's going to want answers, and that may be our only option."

"He's not gonna talk," Andra told them, "It's not like him. I've got a feeling that pain won't faze him either."

"Well, what do you suppose we do?" Nat asked.

Andra thought for a moment. "We use me," she murmered.

"What?" Clint burst, then quieted down, "Are you insane?"

"No, just resourceful. He told me that I wasn't allowed to fight because he didn't want me 'harmed in the bloodshed to come.' Obviously, the guy's got a soft spot for me. If we use me, I might be able to coax some information from him," she explained.

Natasha nodded. "Makes sense. Let me talk to Fury."

Andra and Clint walked away a little ways, letting her talk to the Director. Clint stopped and turned her towards him.

"Okay, explain to me what the hell is going on," he demanded.

She sighed. "It's a long story."

"Give me the gist."

"Alright, fine. Loki has my true name – Andraste, not Andra. For some strange reason, this gives him the ability to pull my consciousness from my mind and take me to this place called the Astral Plain. He's been doing this since before we ever found him. Fury and Natasha already know what I'm telling you. I'm hoping we can use this to our advantage," Andra explained, looking him in the eyes to convince him she wasn't lying.

Clint stared at her for a moment. "You're not kidding. That's insane – a good idea, but insane."

"I know. But now that he knows how Natasha works, he'll be immune to her. And no offense, but your interrogation skills aren't the best," she mentioned sheepishly.

He chuckled and nodded. "Good point."

Andra turned around as her ears perked up at the sound of her name being called by Tony. A smile spread across her face as she walked over to him. He was standing behind the bar, so she walked around it and leaned on it, tail swinging.

"What's up?" she asked, leaning up to kiss him.

He pulled away after a second, looking down at her. "When is somebody coming for Reindeer Games?" he asked, jerking his head in that direction.

"They should be here in a minute. In fact, that's them," she added as she heard the sound of a quinjet landing on the Helipad outside.

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents rushed into the room towards Loki. They handcuffed him and marched him to the elevator to take him to the plane. One of them stayed behind.

"Agents Barton, Forsythe and Romanoff are to report to the Helicarrier immeadiately," he announced, "Along with the Avengers team."

The three agents gave a single nod. Everyone began walking towards the elevator except Tony, who stayed behind for a second to get out of his suit. Andra stayed behind with him and they claimed they'd grab the next elevator. He walked up to her and turned around.

"You see that button? I want you to push it," he told her.

She looked at his back. There was no such button anywhere.

"Tony, what button? I don't see a button here."

"There's a button somewhere, just feel around and find it."

She ran her hands across his back, not feeling anything at all but his armor. A smirk came across her face as she did so, and she trailed her hands up to his neck. Suddenly, the suit folded itself up and fell to the floor.

"That button," he said as he turned to face her.

"Oh, _that_ button," she mocked, pulling him in for a quick kiss, "Now we'd better go before they take off."

Andra grabbed his hand and ran into the elevator, pressing the button for the helipad. Tony looked at her and smiled.

"You know, I like it better when you're kissing me than shooting me."

She winced. "Sorry. I wasn't really in control at the time."

"I know," he agreed.

The elevator reached the helipad and they walked out hand-in-hand towards the plane. Andra led him onboard and they stood like the others at the side. She caught Loki looking at them – or more accurately, their entwined hands – more than once with a sour expression. The ride lasted about twenty minutes in all before they landed on the Helicarrier. The Avengers came off the plane first, then Loki was escorted out just like the first time. This time, they were apparently escorting him to the Detention Section… just not the same cell, obviously. The team was led back into the bridge so they could watch his initial interrogation. After seating themselves around the table, they were shown the footage being recorded that moment. Thor suddenly stood in outrage.

"What is this?" he thundered, pounding his fist on the table, "I demand to know why my brother is being held as such!"

Fury walked forward. "Until such time as we _know_ how to control the Tesseract, we're going to do everything we can to _learn_ how."

"That is none of your concern. The Tesseract_ and _Loki belong on Asgard, there is no reason for this!"

"And you expect me to just let you take the Tesseract and a war-criminal back with you?"

Thor paused. "Well… yes."

"I don't think so."

The God of Thunder walked over to Fury and they began having a heated discussion about whether or not Thor was taking the Tesseract and Loki back to Asgard. Everyone else turned their attention back to the screens on the table.

* * *

~ _in the interrogation room _~

Loki was sitting in a chair, tied up with his hands behind his back. Agent Maria Hill entered the room and sat in a chair across from him.

"Hello Loki," she started.

He simply looked at her as if she were a bug.

She took a deep breath. "I want to know what you know."

"I know more things than your mortal mind could ever imagine," he spat.

"More specifically, I want to know what you know about the Tesseract," she continued.

"Why is that?"

Maria leaned back and crossed her legs. "Because you did something with it we weren't expecting. I want to know how you did it."

He barked a short laugh. "You could never understand the true powers of the Tesseract."

"True powers? Like what?"

Loki smiled. "Why don't you ask Barton?"

* * *

~ _in the bridge _~

Clint stood up and started marching towards the hall, but Andra ran up and grabbed his arm. She pulled him back to the table and sat him down again.

* * *

~ _in the interrogation room _~

Hill narrowed her eyes at him. "We've already determined he doesn't know anything," she lied.

"You thought I would fall for that? I am the _God _of Lies, lying to me does nothing for you," he advised.

"Alright, why don't you tell us and get this over with? The sooner you tell me what I want to know, the sooner I stop lying."

He leaned forward. "I will say nothing to you."

"Then who will you say something to? Fury?" she inquired.

Loki's face contorted into a wicked smile. "Why don't you send me Andraste? Or as you know her, Miss Forsythe?"

* * *

~ _in the bridge _~

All eyes turned to Andra. Nat looked knowing, but hesitant; Clint was slightly surprised and watching her like the hawk he was; Steve seemed to be confused; Thor was giving her a look of shock; Bruce had his head cocked to the side and analyzing her; and Tony looked at her as if she was someone who'd betrayed him. Her ears flattened to her head in shame as Fury came forward, looking unamused.

"Go, Miss _Andraste_," he ordered her.

* * *

_So... Loki has officially called her out. This should be fun. _

_Any question, comments, concerns? Review, please!_

_- Emmy_


	21. Interrogation

**Chapter Twenty-One: Interrogation**

~ _in the Interrogation Room, S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier _~

"Hello, my dear," Loki purred as Andra stepped through the open door of the room and shut it behind her.

She sat down on the seat across from him and crossed her legs. "Hi, Loki," she said through clenched teeth.

"You seem to be upset with me; what have I done to warrant this?"

"What _haven't _you done?" she spat, glaring at him with so much force it might have burned a hole in his forehead.

"I'm afraid I don't understand. You seemed perfectly fine with me when –"

"You're a lying son of a bitch," Andra interrupted in a clipped tone as she leaned towards him, "And let me make this perfectly clear; I am _done_ with your games, and I am _done_ with your manipulations. You said you would tell me what we want to know, so I suggest you get to it before I take it upon myself to _make_ you talk."

Loki stared at her for a moment with a half-amused, half-surprised look. "You are _incredibly _attractive when you're angry," he mentioned.

* * *

~ _on the Bridge _~

"That's_ it_, I'm done with this. I'm getting her out of there," Tony snapped as he shot up from his seat and began storming down the hallway.

Natasha raced up behind him and grabbed his arm, holding him back. "She's our best shot at getting information from him. Just let it go, Stark."

"Let it go? _Let it go_? You expect me to just sit by and _watch_ while that_ psychopath_ flirts with my girlfriend? I know she works for you assholes and all that, but she's still _my _girl, and I _refuse _to let her stay in there with that guy," he shouted, ripping his arm from her grasp.

"Stark, if we don't let Andra do this, we may never get the information we want. Trust me, I don't like it either, but she knows what she's doing," Clint said, standing and walking over to them.

Tony glared at him for a moment. "You had better as _hell_ be right about this."

* * *

~ _in the Interrogation Room _~

"That's not gonna work on me, Loki. You might be known for your _sliver tongue_, but I'm immune to your tricks, so just get to the point," Andra drawled, giving off the impression of being bored.

He looked affronted. "If my _lover _commands," he replied, smirking.

"I am _not _your lover," she snapped, knowing the damage had already been done.

"Oh, I think you are."

"I think you're avoiding the question. What do you know about the Tesseract?"

He sighed and leaned back against his chair. "I know as much as you. It has extraordinary power, the limits of which are unknown. In the right hands, it has the power to provide for all… or destroy _everything_."

"How'd you create the portal?"

"_I _did not. The Tesseract seems to have a mind of its own, all I had to do was give it to Selvig and let the Tesseract show him how to set it up. It was very easy for me, really – excepting _your_ little part in all this. You are exceedingly difficult to manage, Andraste."

She couldn't help but smirk. "I pride myself on it."

"Yes, you do," he chuckled, his smile becoming genuine.

"So is there anything else you have to tell me?"

"You would do _far _better in my arms than his, love."

"What?" Andra burst, choking on the air.

The self-satisfied smirk replaced itself on his face. "I believe you heard me, as did he."

"Oh yeah, he heard you, alright," Tony spat as he slammed the door open.

Andra stood and let him lead her out of the room and down the hallway. He was fuming. She could almost see the cranial smoke coming out of his ears. She picked up the pace and walked side by side with him, taking his hand. When she did so, he closed his eyes for a moment and slowed down, giving her hand a gentle squeeze but not letting go. Tony didn't head back to the bridge, leading her to her quarters instead. It slightly surprised her to find everything intact – quite out of place and scattered, but intact. She picked up all of her files and replaced them on her desk before turning around to see her boyfriend sitting on the end of her bed with his head in his hands.

"Tony?" she asked quietly, walking towards him slowly.

He looked up at her with a pissed-off expression. "Why'd he call you his_ lover_?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "Shit," she whispered to herself, before sitting down in her desk chair and looking at him with a pitiful face, "I have some explaining to do, don't I?"

"You think?"

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen," she sighed, "I didn't even want to get myself involved in this stupid Tesseract deal. But Fury didn't give me a choice."

"That doesn't answer my question, Andraste," he said in a monotone.

She winced. "I know. You want the short version or the long version?"

"I want the truth."

"Alright, I guess I'll start at the beginning. I was there when Loki stole the Tesseract. I tried to stop him – well, delay him, more like. You saw the clips; you've read the reports; you've seen the portal. I wanted to delay him long enough that we'd still be there when the portal collapsed."

"But that would have killed you!" Tony exclaimed.

"I know," she bluntly stated, "That would have been the cost to keep the Tesseract from getting into the wrong hands."

"You were willing to _die_ for that?"

"When you're an agent, you have to acknowledge the fact that you're expendable and can die at any point. Better that it be for a good cause than for nothing, Tony. I knew that I couldn't let him have it. I tried to delay him with a conversation; he ended up getting my name. Don't know _why _I didn't use an alias… probably thought neither of us would have survived long enough for it to make a difference. In the end, I threw a grenade at him and tried to get Fury out of there – he's more important than I am, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs him.

"Later, he assigned me and Phil to go get you. You know what happened there… except for one thing. Remember when I ran off randomly?" she asked, and Tony nodded, "Well, I did that because Loki invaded my thoughts. At the time, I didn't know it was him, but I figured it out within a few minutes. He has this weird ability to… pull my consciousness out of my body. He took me to this place he calls the Astral Plain, and must have put me under some kind of spell or something, I don't know. But he didn't do it again until we were on the plane back from Stuttgart. _That_ was the 'nightmare' I had. I lied, Tony."

"You lied to me about the nightmare?" he snapped, affronted.

"I thought it would be better if no one knew. Surely, if you'd known, you'd have been immensely upset with me."

"Wait a minute. If you were lying about the nightmare, then why did you look so afraid?"

"Because of something I saw. It was frightening… you have no idea what I saw while we were there. Tony, if you'd seen it…" she trailed off, unsure of how to phrase what she thought.

"Then tell me what you saw."

"I saw my child."

Tony gaped at her. "Your… _child_? You have a child?"

"No. I saw my _future_ child," Andra explained, rolling her eyes.

"How do you know it was yours?"

She stared at him flatly. "Who else do you know with cat ears and a tail?"

"Point taken. But… why would seeing your future kid be scary? Were they deformed or something?"

"No, not deformed – unless you count my felinity as a deformity. She was perfectly normal, only… she had _his_ eyes."

"Whose eyes?" he asked, obviously not getting the point.

"Loki's."

"_What_? Why would _your _kid have _Loki's _eyes?"

"That…" she paused, trying to come up with an answer, "… is a very good question. Probably because of genetics."

His expression became stoic. "Are you saying you slept with him?"

"What? No! Well, yes. But… that doesn't count," she stuttered over her words.

'_It most certainly does. I took you in the Man of Iron's bed, or don't you remember?' _the all-too-familiar voice reminded her, almost sneering.

"Okay, so maybe it does count. Yes, once. But it was nothing major. He had me under his influence by that point," she lied smoothly.

"Oh, alright. That alleviates a lot of concerns over here," Tony laughed, and she tried to laugh with him.

'_He ought to keep those concerns,' _Loki chuckled,_ 'After all, you are mine.'_

_ I am not yours, _she hissed mentally, _Nor will I ever be!_

_ 'Do not be so sure about that, love.'_

"But yeah… so he knows my full name and he thinks me his lover because of that one time in the Tower," she explained, then realized she'd said too much.

"In… the Tower? That bastard had sex with you in _my _Tower?" Tony shouted, standing up.

_'Ooh. Now you've done it, love,'_ Loki teased, and she told him to shut up.

Andra stood in front of him and placed her hands on his arm. "Tony, it's not that big of a deal! And he didn't have sex with me; that implies that _I _allowed it."

"Even better," he snapped, "So he _raped _you in my Tower!"

'_And they call __**me**__ the God of Lies…' _

"Uh… no… Tony! Just calm down, please."

"Why should I calm down? That sick, twisted psychopath raped my girlfriend! Don't tell me to calm down!"

"Tony, please!"

"But I _love _you! Don't you see that? I can't let him get away with this because I love you!"

Andra froze and stared at him. He looked down at her, seeing her mouth open like a fish.

"I just said that out loud, didn't I?"

She nodded.

"Okay… just forget it," he said, trying to downplay his confession, but she shook her head.

"If you think I'm just going to forget that, you're an idiot," she told him.

The door burst open and Fury came striding in, grabbing Andra's arm and pulling her backwards.

"Agent Forsythe, we need you in that interrogation room. You aren't finished yet," he spoke in that commanding voice he only used when he was angry.

Her eyes widened and she let him lead her down the hall – or she was going to. Tony, on the other hand, had other ideas. He grabbed a hold of her other arm and brought them to a stop just outside the door.

"I'm not letting her go back in there," he told Fury as he pulled Andra to his side.

Fury scowled and crossed his arms. "I don't recall this being your decision, Stark."

"You're gonna let her go back in there with him? I am not going to stand for her going back in there with the guy who's messing with her mind!"

Andra caught Fury's look of sudden comprehension and shrugged.

"So she briefed you on her contact with Loki?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tony nodded. "Yeah, she told me that she's been talking with him in her head, and he can pull her to another place, and that he fucking raped her in my Tower! There are no more secrets."

"Hmm… seems to me like Forsythe is keeping a lot of secrets for there not being any," Fury contradicted.

Andra swallowed and quickly said, "I think I have some unfinished business in the Interrogation Room, bye!"

She started running down the hallway, leaving the two men there in that awkward situation. When she reached the room, she stepped in and closed the door behind her quickly, leaning on it as she breathed. Loki raised an eyebrow at her, amused by her actions.

"Something wrong, dear?" he asked, smirking.

The cat nodded. "You already know why I'm upset, don't pretend like you're ignorant."

He chuckled, a low sound. "I have to admit, that entire conversation was very amusing. Particularly when he thought I'd taken advantage of you. If only he knew…" he trailed off, laughing under his breath and shaking his head.

"If he knew, there'd be nothing on this Earth – or on any world, for that matter – that could stop him from killing you," she mentioned, pushing off the door and walking towards the other seat.

"Would he not listen to you?"

She froze. "What?"

"Would he not listen to you?" he repeated, and she stared at him like he'd grown a second head.

"What do you mean?"

"Would he not listen to you when you begged for him to spare my life?"

An unexpected and loud laugh bubbled from her lips. "You're assuming I wouldn't let him murder you."

"So you do not care for your lover's life? I'm pleased to know that you love me so ardently," he said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

She sat down and crossed her legs, giving him a smirk. "Loki, ever since you entered my life things have all gone to hell. I'm not against the idea of you being gone from it. Heck, things will probably get better when you're back in Asgard…"

"But?"

"But," she sighed, "I have to admit that your presence hasn't been all bad."

"'Hasn't been all bad?' I think you're understating your opinion."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. All I know is that without you, some very important things would never have happened. We would've never learned that the Tesseract has abilities beyond our wildest dreams. There would never have been a reason for me to visit Tony again and we never would've gotten back together."

He scoffed. "I believe we are of different opinion about that particular event."

"I can assume we are," she agreed, "But there's nothing you can do about it."

"That's what you think."

"No, that's what I _know._ Anyway, as interesting as I'm sure the other Avengers find this, we really ought to get back to the reason I'm here. I'm supposed to pressure you into telling us everything you can. Like perhaps how you managed to get into my mind."

"You already know the answer to that," he stubbornly replied.

Again, she sighed. "Yes, but they don't. So at the risk of being repetitive, please tell them everything you've told me."

"This is going to be a long interrogation," he warned, and she smiled.

"I know."

The truth came out. He started off telling them about the spell that he'd used, but it devolved into a conversation about everything that had happened between them. Her tattoo; their daughter; the punishment for sleeping with Tony; everything. At first it was awkward for both of them, but when they'd stopped talking and Fury told them over the intercom to continue with their story, they knew they didn't really have a choice. It was as if they had gone to church and were making confession. Every little detail about their endeavors came out of the woodwork; even what they'd been doing in the meantime between their meetings.

Andra knew that the team would never trust her again after this. Why should they? She'd been quite literally in bed with their enemy. Tony would probably never talk to her again. She'd been cheating before they'd even gotten back together. Their relationship would be over now for sure – and probably permanently. And to think he loved her… and she ruined it. It tore at her heartstrings.

When they concluded their story, Andra walked straight from the room, leaving Loki sitting there without even a goodbye glance. Her feet were leading her but she wasn't paying attention to where they were going. When she finally pushed open a door and entered the room, she looked up to see it was the room where Loki's cell had been before he sent Thor tumbling to the ground in it. She walked towards the stairs and stopped when she saw the bloodstain still on the wall. Heat pressed at the back of her eyes as she fought the urge to cry. Her self-control failed her as she collapsed to her knees in front of it and tears poured from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Phil," she muttered, sobbing, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I betrayed you and you can't even chastise me about it. I swear, if I'd known this would happen, I would never have talked to him at all back at P.E.G.A.S.U.S., I would have just shot him and got it over with. Eliminated the threat. That's my job, isn't it? To eliminate threats? Now I am a threat. I'm too easily swayed. I've ruined everything with my stupid lack of stubbornness."

"You haven't ruined everything," a voice said behind her.

"But I have, Nat. I was stupid and careless. I let things get out of hand."

"Maybe you did, but that doesn't mean you should beat yourself up over it. You've let things get out of hand before. You've been captured and nearly killed before. How is this any different?"

"When I'm captured and nearly killed, it doesn't end up killing one of my best friends and severely wounding the man I…" she trailed off, not wanting to say the word.

"You don't sound like you," Natasha mentioned as she helped her off the ground. "All this talk about love… it doesn't sound like the Koshka I know. What happened to her?"

"She fell in love with a billionaire, left him and then decided she still loved him, but ruined it."

"See, that's my point. Since when does Tigress love?"

"Since Tigress became Andraste Forsythe again," she explained, sounding like a wounded puppy.

Nat groaned. "You're pathetic. Come on, let's go beat the shit out of Barton."

"Okay," she meekly replied as she was led down the hallway towards the Training Center.

When they arrived at the Training Center, Clint was already there, shooting some dummies across the huge room. Each one had an arrow sticking out of its 'heart'. He turned around to look at them and frowned.

"You look like hell, Andra," he mentioned.

She laughed a short laugh. "Thanks."

"Not a compliment. What's wrong?"

"Everything."

He sighed, rolling his eyes and looking at Natasha. The two stayed where they were while Andra went to pick up her weapons and begin practicing.

Nat nodded. "Koshka thinks that she's 'ruined everything'. She's talking about love and betrayal and all that crap. Starting to make me sick, really."

A grimace spread across his face. "I can see why. Something's got her all messed up; she can't even throw right," he muttered, pointing at her where she was trying to throw some knives into the heart of a practice dummy and failing.

"As much as I hate to say this, I think she needs Stark," Natasha groaned.

"Why the hell would she need – oh, don't tell me she's in love with _him_."

When he was answered with a nod, he let out a long breath.

"She loves him. Personally, I think she's insane, but so be it. I also think that if he shows her that he loves her or something, she'll be fine," she explained.

"I don't see how that's going to help."

"She keeps talking about how she had love and then she ruined it. I'm thinking if she gets proof she still has that love, she'll snap out of it."

"Makes sense, but really? _Him_ of all people?"

"I already said I think she's insane, but to each their own."

He shook his head, chuckling. "She's insane, alright. Why don't you go get Stark, I'll make sure Lovesick Puppy over there doesn't wander off."

"She'd kill you if she heard you call her that."

"I know. That's why I didn't say it to her. Now go get Stark and we'll host an intervention. I can't believe we're doing this. We're assassins, not matchmakers."

"Right now, we're both. Go talk to her, I'll get Stark. Cover me," Nat told him as she walked to the exit.

Clint walked over to where Andra stood trying to throw a knife and missing her mark completely. She had just raised another knife when he took it from her hand and set it back down on the table, turning her around to face him. Her eyes seemed dull and pained, as if she'd just seen her favorite cat get run over by a car. His shoulders fell and he pulled her into a hug, holding her close. After a few moments, her arms snaked around his shoulders and she pulled him even closer, resting her head on his shoulder and silently letting tears run down her face.

"It's okay," he tried to comfort her, petting her head as you would a cat, "Everything's fine."

"No, it's not. I'm horrible, I've ruined everything," she whimpered.

"You have not. Why would you think that?"

She pulled away and looked at him with her hands still on his shoulders. "Because I have! I had love, and now I've lost it! And the rest of the team probably hates my guts and doesn't trust me anymore. I don't even get why you're comforting me right now after all I've done."

"I'm comforting you because you need it. Besides, this whole thing got started because you wanted me to be safe. I owe you at least some thanks for that."

"You don't owe me an eighth as much as I owe you, Clint."

He chuckled. "You're repaying your debt. Part of repaying that debt now is to pull yourself together and stop this stupid 'I've ruined everything' mantra you've got yourself in. Self-pity is not the way of an Agent."

She nodded, laughing shakily. "Okay, I'll pull myself together. You're right. Besides, I survived three years without him, what's the difference?"

Clint internally panicked. That was_ not_ a part of the plan. He was just supposed to talk to her, not convince her to forget about the guy who was being brought to talk to her by Natasha right now. Whoops. As if on cue, the door swung open and Nat walked in… alone. No Stark tailing her. He walked to meet her in the middle of the floor and asked where the guy was.

"Gone."

"What do you mean, 'gone'?" he asked, confused.

Natasha sighed. "I mean he's gone. He left and went back to his goddamn Tower."

"What? Now how are we supposed to help her?"

"Actually," Nat paused, staring behind him, "She seems to be doing a lot better. In fact, she's great. What did you say to her?"

"Uh… about that…" Clint trailed off, unsure he wanted to tell her that he'd pretty much ruined her plan.

"Barton… what did you say to her?"

"I may have accidently convinced her that she doesn't need Stark," he said in a rush.

There was a long pause.

"You idiot!"

* * *

_She's wallowing in self-pity. Or... she was._

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Review, please!_

_- Emmy_


	22. SHIELD HQ

**Chapter Twenty-Two: S.H.I.E.L.D. H.Q.**

~ _in Andra's quarters, S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ _~

Her tail swung back and forth as she paced, reading over the reports submitted by the other Avengers about the incident in New York. It had been a week and a half since then. Andra remembered everyone else going out for shawarma, but she had refused to come on the grounds that she was too tired. In truth, she was nervous about seeing _him_. She had a feeling that would be… disastrous. Besides, he'd left without saying goodbye to her. Probably, if the team saw her again, they'd murder her. Either that or demand that she be locked up and that the key be thrown away. Thankfully, they hadn't done that. _Yet._

When she finished reading the reports, she set them down and walked out of her door. Finally, she was home at HQ again – though it didn't feel much like home. The Helicarrier was currently undergoing serious repairs, so she and a few others had been sent back to HQ. At least, that was what they told the lower-clearance Agents. She had actually been sent back because they had moved Loki to a more permanent location with a stronger holding cell here at HQ, and they'd decided that she ought to be kept with him – and not because they thought she could keep him in line. They were keeping her under _extremely _close watch, almost as close a watch as they were keeping on the criminal himself. There were only a few places she was allowed to go; her quarters, his cell, the experimentation lab and Fury's office. And even when she went to these places, there were two guards with her at all times. She knew for a fact that she was on a threat list that was about as bad as the list she'd been on before she came to work here, if not the exact same one. Loki was on that same list, no doubt. That would explain why she was treated almost like he was.

Why they allowed her to be in his cell with him escaped her. At first, she'd wanted nothing more than to stay away from the God for the rest of her life. He, on the other hand, hadn't left her alone. For the first few days they'd been here, he was constantly in her mind, speaking with her and trying to console her while she pushed and pushed him away. Eventually, however, he'd convinced her that it was pointless to avoid him, so she'd begun visiting him in his cell. The Committee frowned on this, but she didn't care. Even though they frowned on it, they still told the guards to allow her in, despite their constant warning that if she continued to visit him, they'd have to assume that she was conspiring with him and they'd lock her away. Not like it would have made much difference, it was fairly obvious she was a prisoner here anyway.

The door slid open slowly and she walked into the square cell, shutting the door quietly behind her. As always, he was awake before her and already patiently awaiting her arrival. A smile spread across his face as he stood to meet her. Andra got on her tiptoes and kissed him softly like she had every morning. When she pulled away, his smile grew.

"Good morning," she muttered as she walked to what stood for his bed and plopped down at the head.

He turned around and walked towards her. "Good morning to you as well," he said brightly as he sat down beside her and put his arm around her.

She turned, wrapping her left arm around his torso and snuggling into him. A sigh escaped her lips, though not one of contentment. The hand not resting on her back lightly stroked the side of her face and tipped her chin up until she was looking at him.

"Something wrong, love?" he asked, voice laced with true concern.

Her eyes avoided his as she sighed again. "I finished reading the other Avenger's reports."

"And?"

"They all ended with a giant praise to the heavens of… _his _actions_._"

The hand holding her chin dropped and the belly beneath her arm tightened. She looked up at Loki and he was glaring at the distance.

"Loki?" she whispered, unsure if this was the same as before or not.

"How many times do I have to tell you," he said through clenched teeth, "That the Man of Iron does not deserve you and therefore does not deserve your tears? Your affections are wasted on him."

"I know…" she muttered, laying her head on his chest, "You've said. I just can't bring myself to stop caring."

"One day, you will realize that he is not worth your tears, and when that day comes, you will return to me a stronger woman."

"Promise me?"

"I promise you," the God murmured against her hair as he laid a kiss on the top of her head.

A knock echoed on the glass door to Loki's cage and they both looked up to see that it was Natasha. Andra gave Loki a soft kiss on the cheek before sliding onto the floor and standing up straight. When she opened the door and stepped outside for a moment, Nat grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall a little ways so they were out of earshot of the prisoner. For once, they weren't followed by her guards – they probably figured that Nat could handle her if she tried anything.

"What's up, Nat?" Andra asked, her friend's behavior worrying her.

"Two things. First; that was the most disgusting thing I have _ever _seen, and I have no idea what you see in him. Second; he's looking for you," she said, her voice softening at the last sentence.

"Who is?"

"Stark."

A moment of silence passed between them while the two agents examined each other's expressions.

"No," she said simply.

Nat stared at her in confusion. "No? What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean no. I'm not going to come with you, or talk to him, or get back together with him, or whatever it is you want me to do. I don't want to see him again," she protested, her ears flattening back in sadness she tried to mask as anger.

"Yes, you do. You miss him, don't you?"

"No, I don't. I'm fine."

"You miss him."

"I do not!"

"You do too!"

"Do not!"

"You miss him, it's obvious! Even reading about him makes you sad!"

"Reading about him makes me sad because I know it's my fault that his heart is broken now! I don't want to see him again because he's probably going to tell me that he wants me to _stay_ locked up in captivity like some cat in a zoo!" she snapped, her words catching in her throat.

Nat gave her a hard look. "Who said he's going to say that?"

"I did! There's no way he still wants to even _look_ at me after what I've done."

"Well, I'm looking at you now," a familiar baritone voice mentioned behind her.

Andra wheeled around and saw Tony standing down the hallway. Her ears cocked back in shame and she gave him a pitiful expression. He walked towards her and pulled her into his arms. The familiar scent of cologne and scotch surrounded her, calming her as she wrapped her arms around him. Natasha looked at the two and slowly backed away before walking out of the hallway – but not without sending a look at Loki that told him not to interfere. Unfortunately, a few seconds after she left, Andra's guards walked into the hall, hands on their guns. These people had some serious trust issues. She pulled away from Tony, looking up at him. He wasn't smiling, but at least he didn't look completely pissed at her.

She let him lead her out of the hall, ignoring the mental protests of Loki that she should leave this foul cur behind. Her guards followed them, guns at the ready in case she tried to kill him or some stupid excuse of similar quality. The two entered her quarters – which meant they were finally at least partially free of the guards – and she sat down on her bed while he leaned against her desk, looking at each other with very similar expressions.

"I'm sorry –" they both started, then laughed.

"You go first," he told her.

She sighed. "Tony, I'm sorry. For everything. I know you probably hate me now, but –"

"I don't hate you," he interrupted, "It hurt to learn that you were lying to me and that you were cheating on me, and I was pissed at you and took off without warning, but I didn't hate you. Guess I shoulda stayed and we shoulda talked about it."

"Like we're doing now?"

_'Like you __**shouldn't**__ be doing now? Have you forgotten all we've talked about for the past week?' _Loki protested, but she ignored him.

"More or less. I can't believe I made you think I hated you. Hard to hate the woman you love."

Loki groaned. _'Oh, __**please**__. He doesn't love you as he should. He's lying, Andraste.' _

_ How do you know that?_

_ 'I'm the God of Lies. If I didn't know when someone was lying, I'd be forced to give up my title.'_

She smiled involuntarily, then looked at the floor in shame. "I thought you hated me for all I've done this past week. So many things I did that I shouldn't have done. I'm sorry. I'm not expecting you to forgive me – in all honesty, you probably shouldn't."

_'You shouldn't be asking for his forgiveness – you don't need it.'_

"Kitty Cat, if I hadn't already forgiven you, I wouldn't be here. _He_ made you do most of the stuff you did 'cause he had you under a spell – that makes no sense to me, but nothing's made sense recently. I don't even know what I believe. I just know that I want you. You've already left me once before and I don't want that to happen again and I know that in order to keep you, I have to forgive you. So I forgive you. For everything."

_'Oh, bloody hell,' _Loki snapped, _'I have never heard such idiocy!'_

"Tony, that makes no sense. Even after all I've done, you still want me? You must be crazy. Anyone in their right mind would have pushed me away and hauled ass to another country by now."

He gestured at her. "I love you. If that isn't a reason for me to want you, what is?"

_'Please tell me you don't believe this skreyja oskilgetinn!'_

_ You just swore in Norse… wow. What did you call him?_

There was a short pause before Loki answered, _'I may have called him an incompetent bastard.'_

_ That was uncalled for!_

_'You __**belong **__to me. There is no other option, and you know that.'_

_Ooh! I do __**not **__belong to you, and I'm tired of hearing you say that!_

"You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear you say that."

"I should've said it three years ago," Tony smiled at her.

"Yes, you should've. But I guess I'll take what I can get," she teased, standing and walking over to him.

Andra wrapped her arms around her neck and brushed his lips with hers. His hands rested on her hips as he pulled her close.

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Loki groaned in her mind. _'I cannot stand this.'_

He smiled against her lips. "I love you too."

Their lips pressed against each other in a passionate kiss. They continued kissing as they pulled each other so close that her body was flush against his. Her hand travelled up and buried itself in his hair. He pulled up the back of her tank top and his hands slid up her back. One of hers found its way under his shirt and trailed up to the Arc Reactor. She rested her hand on it and pulled away to smile at him. In a flash, he'd taken off his shirt and was working at the bottom of hers. Her hands rested on top of his, stopping his actions as she shook her head. He cocked his head in a questioning glance.

"Not here," she told him, and he nodded.

_'Oh thank you,' _Loki sighed, _'I thought I was going to have to take you to the Astral Plain to get you to stop.'_

"Alright."

He replaced his shirt and grabbed her hands, pulling her to him. They held their hands up palm-to-palm on either side of them, grinning like idiots. Tony leaned forward, meeting her lips in a soft kiss. They broke apart at the knock on the door, adjusting themselves like guilty teenagers. Andra walked up to the door and opened it to reveal Natasha with Clint looking awkward behind her.

"Hi guys… what's up?"

Nat looked around her, spotted Tony, and nodded. "So have you guys made up yet?"

"Yes, we – wait… were you planning this?" Andra accused, and Loki laughed in her head.

"Only slightly. It was up to him whether or not the plan actually worked. If he hadn't decided to forgive you, the whole thing would've been moot."

"Okay, then. Clint, _please _tell me that you weren't in on this."

He gave her a sheepish glance. "I might have been."

She scoffed. "You're hopeless."

Tony walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You should thank them, babe. They're the ones that told me you didn't hate me. I wasn't going to come before they told me that 'cause I was sure you hated me when you didn't show up for shawarma."

"Speaking of which," she said, turning around, "I still haven't had that."

"We have to change that. You, pack."

"What?"

"Pack. You're coming back home with me. I don't care what your boss thinks."

She chuckled as she walked towards her dresser to get her things. "My immediate boss, or the Committee?"

"Either one."

"So you don't care what Fury thinks?"

He paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No."

Then she stood up abruptly and sighed. "Actually, Tony… I can't come with you."

"Why not?"

His arms wrapped around her waist from behind and she sighed. In the background, she could hear Clint whistling softly as Natasha shut the door.

"Because for all intents and purposes, I'm a prisoner here," she explained.

"What do you mean, 'a prisoner?'"

She turned around in his arms and rested her forehead on his. "They've got me on very tight lockdown. Ever since I explained what happened with Loki, they've been watching me closely. When they shipped him here, they brought me as well. I've had those two guards outside with me at all times. There's never a moment when I'm truly alone. I'm only allowed to go here, Fury's office and the experimentation lab."

"Experimentation lab?" Tony asked, pulling away to look at her with a concerned expression.

Andra nodded as she pulled herself out of his grasp and guided them both to sit on the bed. "They've been trying to get Loki out of my head."

"Hey, I'm all for that. How've they tried?"

"In a lot of ways that haven't worked. They even tried a medium – sketchiest person I've met in my life, and I've met a lot of sketchy people," she admitted, and he laughed, "But nothing works. He's just too damn stubborn; won't get out and leave me alone."

_'Oh, come now. You know my presence "hasn't been all bad," you said so yourself,' _Loki teased, _'Besides, have I not been the one comforting you in your time of need? Providing you with a friend and confidante? A pair of lover's arms to calm your nightmares?'_

She winced; he had a point. Ever since she'd seen Tony "die", it had been haunting her nightmares and causing her to wake up in the middle of the night in a terror. And, of course, who should notice but the God in her head? He was there when she needed comfort, took her to the Astral Plain and wrapped his arms about her until she fell asleep again. It was… almost nice, the way he comforted her. It felt… loving.

"So he's still in your head?" Tony asked, his voice gaining a bitter edge.

Again, she nodded. "Seems to like it there. That's why they won't let me leave, I'll bet."

"That's bullshit. I'll go talk to Fury and we'll get you outta here," he stated, standing, and she moved quickly to follow him.

"Tony, it's not gonna do any good, he's not gonna let me go anywhere outside the base. I'm trapped."

"Like hell you are," he responded as he flung open the door and started down the hallway.

Tony!" she shouted after him, running into the hall only to be stopped by her guards. "What the hell? Let me through, he's going to talk to Fury! I can't let him –"

"Let him go, ma'am," they commanded in a monotone voice.

She scoffed. "I can't just let him go! Let me through!"

"Let him go," they repeated, in that forceful voice that she knew meant she wasn't allowed to follow him or they'd probably lock her up.

"Shit," she whispered under her breath as she watched Tony's retreating form.

* * *

~ _with Mister Stark, Fury's Office, S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ _~

Tony opened the door with his usual nonchalant attitude, and stood right in front of the Director's desk. It only took a second before Fury looked up at him with an irritated expression.

"Is there something I can _help_ you with, Mister Stark?"

"Yeah," he replied, crossing his arms, "Let me take my girlfriend home."

"You know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"She's a threat. A pretty major one, right now. We need to keep an eye on her."

He scoffed. "I can keep both eyes on her."

"Very funny. But we can control her, you can't. For all we know, Loki could take over her mind at any moment."

"Just 'cause he's been in her head? She's not his puppet, you know."

Fury crossed his arms and glared at Tony. "Sure seems like it to me."

"Andra's her own person. She can do as she pleases, he doesn't have her in the palm of his hand."

"Well, 'what she pleases' is to spend all her time in the God's cell."

"What?"

"Agent Forsythe has spent almost as much time in Loki's cell as he has, and we have good proof that when she's not there, she's communicating with him mentally. Awful lot of communication for 'being her own person.'"

"Loki's in her head! He's probably convincing her to do these things!"

"That's exactly the point, Mister Stark. If he's 'convincing' her to do things, then what's to say he can't 'convince' her to murder someone? You, for example."

Tony shook his head. "She's got more control than that. I know she'd never hurt me."

"_She _might not. _Loki, _on the other hand, probably wants you dead."

"That's a risk I'll have to take. I've got the suits, anyway – if he tries anything, I can hold my own against her."

"I can't let you do this, Stark."

"Good thing I decided I don't need permission, huh?"

* * *

~ _in Andra's Quarters _~

Tony came barging in suddenly, grabbed her hand and her bag, and ran back out. Once they got to the main helipad, he loaded her into the chopper and signaled to take off, which they did. When the other agents came running out after them with their guns out, she realized what Tony had done and laughed.

"I guess you aren't afraid of Fury after all, huh?" she asked.

He laughed shortly. "No, I am. I'm just too stupid to acknowledge it."

* * *

_Well, she's gone now... but the info in this chapter is VERY important!_

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Please review!_

_- Emmy_


	23. Future

_This is the last chapter of the book. This and the epilogue and I'm done!_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Future**

~ _in Stark Tower, Tony's Garage, four days after Andra's Escape _~

Tony walked into the room with a smile upon his face at the sight of his girlfriend working as she always did. Fury had sent agents after her, but she had forced them all away until she was left alone. A broad grin spread across Andra's face as she looked up from her diagrams and took the glass of ice water he handed her. He stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her plans while she took a long draught of her water. Again, she was doing what they both loved – planning the next big Stark Industries invention.

"Nice idea, Babe," he commented, "But you're missing a reliable power source."

She chuckled and set down her glass. "That's your division. I make the plans, you make the power."

"Why don't you let me see what I can do?"

Andra nodded as she got up from her seat and let Tony take her place. Her arms draped over his shoulders as he worked, adding what he thought would be helpful – including an Arc Reactor for power. Of course, he had to completely rewire her creation to make it work, but she didn't mind. They were working together, after all. His hands froze as her lips brushed his temple and he smirked.

"Never can keep your lips off of me, can you?"

His girlfriend – how he loved that word – made a low humming sound against his temple. "Are you sure you want me to?"

He quickly turned around and pulled her down onto his lap, kissing her deeply. They stayed like this for quite some time when Happy came in without knocking and cleared his throat.

"Mister Stark? Sorry, but it's important," he interrupted, and they pulled apart. He saw who was on his lap – he'd been letting Tony well enough alone since New York – and kissing him, making Happy smile. "Hello, Miss Forsythe! Great to see you back!"

"Hi, Happy," she laughed, smiling, "It's great to be back."

"Anyway, I just wanted to inform Mister Stark that S.H.I.E.L.D. wants all the… Super Friends –"

"Avengers," both Andra and Tony corrected him.

"– _Avengers_ to be present when they send whatever his name is back to Ass-guard."

She suddenly burst out laughing and collapsed, leaning heavily on Tony. He even laughed a little before he told Happy that they thanked him and he could go now. Happy quickly exited the room muttering something about not understanding what was so funny. When Andra regained her senses, her boyfriend looked in her eyes seriously.

"We're not going."

"Tony –" she started, but he interrupted her.

"No. I don't want you anywhere near him."

She scoffed. "Tony, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, and it's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't trust _him_."

"We ought to be there, if only to say goodbye to Thor."

He gave her a sideways look. "What's with the sudden closeness to Shakespeare?"

"Everybody else is going to be there too. Steve, Bruce, Clint, Natasha – "

"Now there's a reason for me to go," he commented cheekily.

"Hey!" she complained, and hit him on the arm playfully, "No talking about Nat that way. You're mine, and mine only."

"Yes, I am."

They leaned forward and kissed for a while before Tony pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

"Andra?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Tony."

~ _a few hours later, still in the Garage _~

The two workers looked up from their stations as JARVIS's voice echoed around the room.

"Sir, there's a call for you from a Mr. Banner. Shall I pick it up?"

"Sure," Tony said, then waited two seconds before saying, "Hey, Banner, what's up?"

"I, uh… just got a quick question for you," Bruce's voice filtered through the air.

"Shoot."

He paused for a second. "Is your offer still open?"

"What, you mean to come hang out here in Stark Tower? Yeah, it's still open. Changed your mind?"

"More like got tired of being watched. So you don't mind?"

"I _made_ the offer, Big Guy," Tony reminded him, while leaning back and staring at the ceiling, "You're welcome to stay here. When do you want to be picked up?"

After a moment of thought, he responded, "You know about the send-off, right?"

"Yeah, we know about the farewell party for Shakespeare and Reindeer Games," he sighed, casting a glance at Andra.

"We? Somebody else with you?"

"Yeah, Andra's here."

"Hi, Bruce," she commented, smiling a little.

"Hello, Andra. Last I saw you, you were being carted off somewhere with Loki. What happened to 'keep her under tight security lockdown?'"

The cat shrugged. "Eh, you know me, always getting into trouble."

"So… I take it that… whatever you two've got going on is back on?"

They laughed and she answered first. "Tony and I are back together, if that's what you meant."

"Yes, that's what I meant. Anyway, are you two going to the send-off thing for Thor and Loki?"

"Yes," she answered at the same time as Tony answered, "No."

They glared at each other and Bruce was silent for a moment.

"Still working that out?"

"Yeah," they answered in unison.

"Well, it'd work better for us to just meet up there and I can catch a ride home with you guys," he reasoned, "But that's only if you decide to go."

"See," she whined at Tony, "Everybody else is going, and this might be the last time we see each other for a long time! And we can pick him up there!"

"Banner, you just gave my girlfriend a good reason to get what she wants. I'm never going to hear the end of it now..." he groaned.

"Sorry," Bruce apologized.

Tony sighed. "Listen, we aren't going. We'll have to arrange another transport for you."

"Can I ask why?" he asked.

"Why what?"

"Why aren't the two of you going?"

Again, Tony sighed, only deeper this time. "After what Reindeer Games did to her, I don't want her anywhere near him, so she's not going, and I know that if I go, she'll just sneak out and come anyway, so we're staying here together. Besides, it's not like Thor's my best friend."

"True enough."

Andra pouted. "But Natasha and Clint are _my_ best friends, and they're gonna be there…"

"You make it sound like a high school house party," her boyfriend complained.

"It's not one, but we ought to go, if only for the Avengers to assemble and make sure Loki doesn't do anything before he gets sent off."

Bruce cleared his throat. "I hate to be the Devil's Advocate here, Andra, but how exactly do you think we're going to stop him from doing anything?"

There was a long pause before she muttered something under her breath.

"What?" both the men asked.

"Seeing me with Tony will bruise his ego more than it was before," she explained, and Tony gave her a sideways look, "He won't _want_ to do anything but get off this planet and away from us."

"Sounds great in words, but how can you promise he won't try anything with you?" Banner inquired.

"I can't. But I'm almost 100% sure I'm right. I know him better than I ought to."

Tony snorted. "You can say that again."

"Tony…" she warned. Arguing with him wasn't really her favorite thing to do.

"Fine," Tony suddenly burst, "Fine. We'll go. Does that make you_ happy_, babe?"

She paused for a moment. "Bruce, we're gonna have to let you go, okay? We'll see you there."

"Okay," he responded, then hung up the phone.

"Are you _happy_ now?" Tony asked as he got up from his seat and began walking around.

She stood also and leaned against her worktable, crossing her arms under her chest. "No, I'm not. Why are you so pissed at me for this?"

"Why do you want so goddamn much to see him?"

Andra squinted her eyes and pushed a bit off the table. "What?"

"It's obvious that you're _dying_ to see your little God in golden armor!" Tony shouted, with his arms spread out at his sides, "If you weren't, you wouldn't be pushing to go to this stupid thing!"

"Tony, I'm not dying to see him – "

"Yes, you are! You've been dying to see him since I brought you home!"

"What do you _mean_?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"You talk in your sleep. I hear you calling out – not to me, but to _him_! What the hell am I supposed to make of that, huh?"

"I call out to him because he comforted me!"

"Oh, he 'comforted' you. Is that what you're calling it now? I didn't know that comfort was a synonym for f –"

"I was having – I _am_ having nightmares!" she shouted over him.

"About what?" he shouted back, sneering.

She fumed and yelled, "About _you_!"

The room went dead silent in an instant. Tony looked at her with shocked eyes as his mouth opened slowly.

"You have nightmares about me?" he asked, sounding broken and hurt – he'd assumed she was either afraid of him or hated him.

"Yes – No… I have nightmares about you dying," she clarified in a quiet voice, "Tony… that was frightening. I thought I'd lost you – for good this time. I have nightmares where you don't come back, you don't wake up… or where you end up being stabbed through the heart, or shot by a Chitauri, or eaten by that whale thing… all I see is you dying. And it scares me, Tony. It honestly scares me."

His face changed and he strode over to her, pulling her into his arms and holding her close. "You're not going to lose me. I'm not going to die anytime soon. I promise."

"I just don't want to lose you again," she whispered.

"You won't."

* * *

~ _later that day, still in the Garage _~

Andra laid back on her boyfriend contentedly with her head resting in the middle of his chest. Tony was sitting up against the arm of the couch and playing with her ears every once in a while, which made her twitch and complain. She looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"What is it, Kitty Cat?" he asked, kissing the top of her head lightly.

There was a moment of silence before she answered, "I wonder what we're gonna do after everything with the Avengers is over."

"Hmm… we could stay here," Tony suggested as he twisted a lock of her hair around his finger.

"And subject poor Bruce to all of what we entail? I think he'd probably prefer it if we were somewhere else."

"Well, in that case, we could always head back to Miami."

"That's an idea. I'd love to go home again," she agreed, smiling.

The hand playing with her hair stilled. "You consider Miami home?"

"It's where we met and fell in love, isn't it?"

He grinned goofily and shrugged, "I guess so. Just didn't know you thought of me as home."

Quickly, she flipped over so she was positioned above him and smirked. "I never said I considered _you_ home, I said I consider _Miami_ home."

"Oh, so you wouldn't be happy with me no matter what?" he teased.

His girlfriend leaned in close whispered against his lips. "Nope."

"What a shame. I guess I won't be taking you back to our mansion then."

"Okay, a) _our_ mansion? And b) I was kidding. I'd be happy with you even if you were living in the garage of a tower because the rest of it had nearly been destroyed."

He chuckled at her joke. "Good thing I am then, huh? And it's our mansion. You own… an eighth of it."

"An eighth? Really? I own part of your mansion? When did this happen?"

"When I decided I wanted to give it to you."

"When was that?"

"Five minutes ago."

She laughed and he sat up to wrap his arms around her waist. Her legs moved 'til she was practically straddling him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Their lips pressed together and stayed there until they needed air. Then he pressed his forehead to hers and looked into her eyes.

"Andra, do you _want _to move in with me again?"

A smile spread across her face and she nodded – which also made him nod. "Yes, I do. And this time, I promise it won't end like it did the first time. I intend to stick around, and if S.H.I.E.L.D. wants me, they'll have to consult my boyfriend."

"I already know what my answer's going to be."

"What is your answer going to be?"

"They can't have you. You're mine," he muttered, then kissed her again.

"I love you, Tony."

"And I love you. You know, I thought I'd never say those words to anyone."

"Really?"

"I thought love was overrated. A waste of time."

She scoffed. "Well, it proved you wrong, didn't it?"

"Not entirely."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a waste of time. A waste of time not to chase the things you love when they slip from your grasp."

"That's cute and makes absolutely no sense."

"It wasn't supposed to."

They burst into a laughing fit and she collapsed against him. When they had composed themselves, she leaned back on her knees and looked him in the eyes with the brightest smile.

"I'm finally getting the two things a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent never thinks they'll get."

He cocked his head. "What's that?"

"I've got a home, and love."

"What about in the future?"

"Well, Mister Stark… that's up to you."

* * *

_That was their cute last moment before the epilogue - be sure to read that. _

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Happy with the way it ended? Please review!_

_- Emmy_


	24. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

~ _Central Park _~

The huge van he was in finally stopped in its motion. Two huge black doors opened and his brother stood up, walking out of them. He stayed put until Thor called for him, then he finally stepped out. The sunlight hit him and he squinted, recoiling from its blinding light. His steps forward were joined by two other sets – of course, he was being escorted. It was honestly surprising that he was allowed out at all, and that Fury and Thor had reached an agreement for him to be taken "home" with the Tesseract. He had expected to be locked in that square cell for a very long time… but, then again, he had also expected his lover to stay with him. Apparently, nothing was going according to what he'd expected.

Thor was standing over by Barton, the Monster pretending to be a man, and Miss Romanoff. The sight of the redhead made an evil smile cross his face, though it was harder behind the muzzle over his mouth. It was humiliating, being muzzled and chained like a hound. Still, it was only reasonable that they take precautions to keep him from ruining their little farewell ceremony. As he stood there, he caught the sound of an engine coming closer, but didn't turn to look at it. The Man out of Time walked past him and he still heard the small voice in his mind that reminded him that the man's name was Steve. He shook his head lightly, clearing her voice from his mind.

Another engine came up, and he almost started, though not because of the sound._ She_ was here. It was obvious, she was the only mortal in this pathetic world with that presence. He should have known she'd come here, though her appearance was still a surprise. Surely, after leaving him and returning to the Man of Iron, she'd have been made to stay with him and never come near again. Yet here she was, walking past him on the arm of the other man. He nearly laughed. She may have been on the arm of another man, but she was still his. It took little energy to project his thoughts into her mind.

_'Hello, my dear.'_

There was a momentary pause before she answered, _'Hello, Loki.'_

He smiled as she turned to look at him, and though she couldn't see it, he knew that she was aware of his expression.

_'You came to bid me farewell?'_

_ 'No, I came with Tony –' _he grimaced at the name _'—to pick up Bruce. It just happened that this was the most convenient time to do so.'_

_ 'So you did not come to see your lover one last time, to speak to me one last time before I am sent away?'_

Again, she paused. _'No.'_

He smirked. She was lying.

_'Oh, my dear, you haven't forgotten that which I am God of, have you?'_

_ 'No, I am still aware that you're the God of Mischief and Lies, but I don't see what that has to do with –'_

_ 'You tried to lie to me.'_

She turned her head to look at him and glared at him. _'I did not!'_

_ 'Again, you are lying. Need I remind you that it will do you no good?'_

The Man of Iron looked at her, then dragged her to another part of the area. Loki raised an eyebrow and listened in on their conversation.

"Tony, everything's fine."

"Like hell it is! He's back in your head again, and I don't like it."

Andra sighed. "I know you don't, but I promise everything's under control."

"Maybe you're under control, but what about him?"

"He's not going to do anything, I promise."

He just had to say something. _'Really? I'm not? What if I feel like doing something to you?'_

_ 'You won't.'_

"Babe, you can't promise that," the Man of Iron reminded her, "You don't have control over him."

"No, I don't, but he doesn't have control over me either. Tony, we're going to be fine. We'll get this over with, take Bruce back to the Tower, then go home to Miami. Everything's gonna be fine."

Home? She was planning to go back to his home with him, and she called it home as well. That irritated him to no end. So his lover meant to make her future with that imbecile. Had she truly forgotten all they had discussed, all the comfort and companionship he had given her? He had advised her to leave the man, but the moment he comes into her life again, she goes crawling back to him like a hound that had been kicked by its master – still blindly loyal despite the abuses it suffers. And she claims to be a cat.

He sighed. "I hope you're right, Kitty Cat."

"Just wait. We'll be going home before the day is out," she whispered, then kissed him, "I love you, Tony."

Loki felt like being sick. Those words were truthful. She actually loved this man. How pathetic. And of course, out of habit, he returned her sentiments. Suddenly a large hand grasped the God's shoulder as Thor passed him. Silently, he watched as Selvig aided his brother in placing the Tesseract into the small holding container. Loki was pushed forward and he walked until he stood at one side of a large circle inscribed into the bridge beneath them. Thor handed him one end of the container, but stopped for a minute to say his goodbyes.

Loki looked over the group. His passed over everyone but Andra. His beautiful, feline lover who had forsaken him and turned to another man. It burned in him, a fury against Stark he had never before discovered. Then he looked Andra up and down and smiled. Thor finished his farewells, and turned the other side of the container to activate the Tesseract. Loki mentally called out his spell and they were off. The streams of blue light around them that were the same as when he had travelled to Midgard in the first place. Suddenly, they landed in the middle of the Throne Room and they stumbled a little. A cry echoed and Loki smiled wickedly as he looked up.

"What have you done?" his brother shouted.

He simply shrugged and gave his brother an "I didn't do anything" look.

Suddenly, someone hit the side of his face with a hard slap.

"Damn you, Loki!" they cried.

Loki simply smiled and looked down at her.

_'I told you. You're mine, Andraste.'_

* * *

_That's the official end of the story. Don't worry, there's a sequel coming out soon. It'll come out first on Wattpad, then here. It's called Claws of Gold._

_Any questions, comments, concerns? Want to rant about the ending? Review, please!_

_- Emmy_


End file.
